PHILIPPIANS 4:12

“I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”

Have you ever been let in on a secret? Usually, when someone asks you if you want to know a secret, it really isn’t one anymore. If they are telling you, they have probably told others who probably told others who probably…you get the picture. I don’t like to keep secrets. I forget who knows and who doesn’t, and I will probably spill the beans. So…don’t tell me any secrets, lol.

Paul learned a secret. And he blurts it out to the Philippians. He has “learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” The Greek word Paul uses here for “learned the secret” is another one time used word. It is the word mueówhich “conveys the idea of being initiated into a deeper, previously hidden understanding. It implies entry into an experiential knowledge that is reserved for the “inside” rather than mere intellectual grasp.” (Topical Lexicon) Secret societies and cults were common in Paul’s day, so he intentionally used a word that would draw attention to what he was saying.

APPLICATION

What is important to see, though, is what this secret was all about. Paul is still in the process of thanking the Philippians for their gift to him. But he wants them to know if they can’t give, it’s okay. He has made peace with what the Lord has given him. He wasn’t worried about being hungry or having money. Those things just weren’t important in comparison to having Christ.

This verse is in the middle (vs 11-13) of a memory passage I have learned and claimed as part of my missionary fundraising. My wife and I have been missionaries with Trans World Radio (TWR) as part of the Every Man A Warrior ministry since September 2021. We depend on ministry partners for financial and prayer support. There have been times when we had a comfortable balance in our missionary fund and times (like now) when the balance is low. But when I look back at the last almost four years, I am amazed at how He has provided.

Last night in my men’s group we were looking at Romans 8:31-39. Wow! What a passage. And verse 32 struck me as I have been praying for our ministry fund. That verse says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” You see that? He will “freely give us all things.” I am claiming that verse today. How about you? The secret is to know He is the source of peace. No amount of money or things will give you that.

Father God, I praise You that You have opened wide the store houses of heaven. You are my peace.

You can make a gift to our ministry at http://www.twr.org/carl-willis.