I Can Do All Things with Rev. Kathi Bubb June 21, 26' Covenant PCUSA

Devotional

Day 1: Empty Coin Bags and Full Trust

The widow’s two coins clinking in the temple treasury revealed more than scarcity—they echoed radical dependence. Jesus didn’t applaud the amount but the posture: she held nothing back, trusting God with empty hands. This kind of surrender isn’t about poverty but about prioritizing God’s kingdom over self-preservation. Like Joseph interpreting dreams in prison or Esther risking her crown, true strength emerges when we relinquish control. What would it look like to pour out your “coins”—time, security, reputation—without calculating the cost? [34:30]

“Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
(Mark 12:43–44, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you cling to “coins” of control or comfort? What one step could you take this week to entrust that area to God’s care?

Day 2: Gardens, Swords, and Unanswered Prayers

Jesus knelt in Gethsemane, sweating blood as he pleaded for another way. His raw prayer—“Take this cup”—shows faith isn’t about stoic certainty but honest wrestling. The sword Jesus brought wasn’t violence but the piercing truth that following him disrupts even family ties. Like Hagar sobbing under a desert bush, sometimes God’s answer isn’t rescue but presence in the pain. How do you pray when God’s plan feels like abandonment rather than deliverance? [34:56]

“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’”
(Matthew 26:39, NIV)

Reflection: What “cup” are you asking God to remove? How might surrendering it shape your capacity to love others sacrificially?

Day 3: Wilderness Wells and Unseen Provision

Hagar laid Ishmael beneath a bush, certain death her only reality. But God heard the boy’s cries—not from heaven’s throne but from the dirt where a mother’s tears fell. The same God who guided Joseph through prison pits and Esther through palace politics opened Hagar’s eyes to a well she’d missed. Our deserts often hide life-giving springs just beyond our despair. Where have you stopped looking for provision because exhaustion clouded your vision? [36:54]

“When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’”
(Genesis 21:15–16, NIV)

Reflection: What situation feels like a “bowshot away” from hope? How might God be inviting you to see resources or relationships you’ve overlooked?

Day 4: Truth-Telling in a World of Cheap Words

Paul’s chains clanked as he wrote “I can do all things”—not prosperity platitudes but prison-hardened faith. Like Esther naming her Jewish identity before a hostile king, Christians today face a choice: parrot cultural lies or proclaim God’s disruptive truth. Speaking love in a world of fear, forgiveness amid betrayal, or justice against systems of power requires more than courage—it demands reliance on the One who strengthened Jesus in Gethsemane. What falsehoods masquerading as “truth” do you need to confront this week? [46:12]

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
(Ephesians 4:15, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you stayed silent to keep peace? How could you gently speak Christ’s truth in a relationship or situation this week?

Day 5: Mountain Mottos and Daily Bread

“All things” in Philippians 4:13 isn’t a blank check for personal ambitions but fuel for kingdom work—reconciling relationships, facing persecution, loving enemies. Like the VBS youth who acted out Bible stories with humor and grit, we’re called to embody Scripture’s messy narratives, not sanitize them. God’s strength meets us in prison cells and boardrooms, hospital rooms and voting booths. What ordinary “script” has God written for you today that requires holy endurance? [42:22]

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
(Philippians 4:12–13, NIV)

Reflection: What mundane task or difficult conversation becomes sacred when approached with Christ’s strength? How will you lean into that truth today?

Sermon Summary

The mountain motto from Philippians 4:13 sounds simple: “I can do all things through God who strengthens me.” Paul’s line, though, does not mean that a person can fly, get rid of cancer, force love, or fix every broken thing. Philippians 4:13 needs its context, because taking one verse out of the Bible without seeing what is around it can be dangerous and foolish. Paul writes from prison, and if “all things” meant anything at all, Paul might have broken out or at least gotten better prison food.

The VBS stories show people relying on God in hard places. Joseph uses his God-given gift in prison, but the rest of that story includes an execution. Esther risks her own life to save her people, but the story also includes Haman being hanged. The poor widow gives two pennies, emptying her coin bag, and Jesus says her gift is greater because she gives her all. Jesus prays in the garden, afraid of what is coming, while the disciples cannot stay awake with him.

Genesis brings the hard parts into full view through Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham and Sarah doubt the promise, Hagar bears Ishmael, Isaac is born, and Sarah tells Abraham to send Hagar and her son away. Hagar runs out of water in the desert and cannot bear to watch her boy die. God hears the boy crying, promises care, and provides water, but the story still makes plain that faith often stands in terrifying places.

Matthew adds more hard words. Jesus says not to fear, but also says that those who deny him will be denied. Jesus says he has not come to bring peace but a sword, and that those who find their life will lose it while those who lose their life for his sake will find it. Those words are not easy Sunday school material, but they belong with the same truth: God strengthens people for hard obedience.

“All things” names the things that bring about God’s dream for the world: broken relationships healed, calm in pressure, light and love filling dark places, forgiveness spoken when it costs something. Ephesians calls followers of Christ to speak the truth in love. God’s truth stands against fear, selfishness, greed, and lies dressed up as power. Christian nationalism says one kind of people should rule by control and domination, but the gospel calls for service, sacrifice, mercy, justice, and love. God grants strength not for fantasy, but for courage in the living of these days.

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Key Takeaways

1. Context keeps Scripture from slogans Philippians 4:13 cannot be treated like a blank check for whatever a person wants. Paul’s prison setting makes the verse sharper, not smaller, because strength means faithfulness inside limits, not escape from every limit. Scripture becomes more truthful when its surrounding words are allowed to speak. [41:31]
2. God strengthens kingdom-shaped obedience “All things” points toward the things that serve God’s dream for the world. Strength is given for reconciliation, peace under pressure, and the practice of what has been learned from Christ. God’s power does not flatter human control, but forms people for holy endurance and love. [42:49]
3. Forgiveness is a hard saying “I forgive you” can be harder to say than any difficult word in another language. Forgiveness reaches toward the neighbor, coworker, classmate, or partner whose actions caused real wounds. God’s strengthening grace does not pretend the wound is small, but makes costly mercy possible. [44:20]
4. Truth must answer public lies The call to speak truth in love matters when repeated lies begin to sound normal. God’s truth refuses a world built on fear of the stranger, neglect of the poor, and the worship of number one. Truth becomes freedom when it exposes what has carried people away from justice and peace. [46:12]
5. Courage belongs to costly love The hard things God calls forth are not abstract religious duties. Love of neighbor, forgiveness, truth-telling, and resistance to a distorted gospel require courage. Christ’s way is service and sacrifice, not domination dressed up in holy language.

## [48:39]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:57] - VBS Stories Come Alive
[33:41] - The Mountain Motto
[34:02] - Joseph and Esther Trust God
[34:56] - The Widow and Jesus Pray
[35:19] - Abraham, Sarah, and the Promise
[36:38] - Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
[37:32] - Hard Words from Matthew
[38:40] - The Rest of the Stories
[40:10] - Can All Things Really Mean All?
[41:31] - Context Matters in Scripture
[42:49] - Strength for God’s Dream
[44:20] - Hard Words Like Forgiveness
[45:43] - Speaking Truth in Love
[47:17] - Answering Christian Nationalism
[48:39] - Courage for Hard Things

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” [26:08]

Ephesians 4:15
“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,” [45:58]

Matthew 10:39
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” [32:17]

John 8:32
“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” [46:56]

Observation questions

What examples were named that show what Philippians 4:13 does not mean, such as things people simply cannot make happen? [40:10]
In the stories of Joseph, Esther, the poor widow, and Jesus in the garden, what hard or painful parts stand alongside their trust in God? [38:40]
What details in the story of Hagar and Ishmael show how desperate their situation became in the desert? [36:56]
According to the verses leading up to Philippians 4:13, what kinds of things belong to God’s dream for the world? [42:49]

Interpretation questions

Paul writes Philippians 4:13 from prison. How does that setting change the meaning of “all things”? What kind of strength does the verse seem to promise, and what kind does it not promise? [42:24]
Jesus says that whoever loses life for his sake will find it. How might that connect with the claim that God strengthens people for hard obedience rather than easy escape? [45:35]
“Speaking the truth in love” is different from simply saying whatever comes to mind. What might make truth-telling loving, and what might make it harsh or self-righteous instead? [45:58]
If truth sets people free, why do repeated lies so often gain power over people and communities? What kind of freedom comes from God’s truth? [46:07]

Application questions

Where is life asking for something hard right now: forgiving someone, staying calm under pressure, telling the truth, or repairing a broken relationship? Which of these feels most real at the moment, and why? [43:23]
“I forgive you” can be one of the hardest things to say. Is there a wound from a neighbor, coworker, classmate, friend, or family member that still feels tender? What would forgiveness look like there, even if trust is not yet rebuilt? [44:20]
Many people use Philippians 4:13 like a slogan for success. When disappointment, fear, illness, or loss shows up, what helps keep faith from collapsing? How can this verse become a source of courage without becoming a false promise? [41:31]
Speaking the truth in love is part of Christian maturity. Is there a place in daily life where silence has felt easier than honesty? What would truthful and loving speech sound like there? [45:58]
God’s truth stands against fear, selfishness, greed, and neglect of the poor. Which of those pressures feels strongest in the surrounding culture right now? How does that pressure show up in personal habits, conversations, or choices? [46:19]
Christ’s way is service and sacrifice, not control and domination. Where might there be a temptation to seek control instead of love: at home, at work, online, or in public life? What would a more Christlike response look like? [47:29]
Courage is needed to love neighbors, offer forgiveness, and resist a distorted gospel. What practice could help grow that courage this week: prayer, Scripture, a hard conversation, an act of mercy, or something else? [48:39]

Sermon Clips

39s

“```But friends, as followers of Christ, we can do all things through God who strengthens us. We can speak truth. And we cannot we must not stand by while people are distorting the message of the gospel, the word of God, and claiming it is truth. We must speak the truth of God's love and mercy and justice no matter how hard that is. May God grant us wisdom and courage for the living of these days.”

49s

“Christian nationalism says, Christians are to rule by control and domination. But God's truth is that we are called to live through service and sacrifice and love. Now this is hard. We're talking politics in church and I know that's a dangerous thing to do. But I believe that we are called to point out how far lies have taken us away from the world that god wants for us. The world's message of power and greed and selfishness and fear are crashing up against god's dream for the world, and we are poor for it.”

65s

“When Paul says we can do all things, context is crucial. Crucial. Paul's in prison when he writes this. So if he says I can do all things, I think he'd break out of prison or at least get some better prison food. So he doesn't mean those things literally. What he means in those verses leading up to Philippians four thirteen, he's talking about those things that bring about god's kingdom, god's dream for the world. He talks about fellow followers of Jesus trying to get along. He talks about rejoicing in god, not being anxious, putting into practice all that we have learned from him. These are the things that god can give us strength to do. I can do all things isn't about defying gravity, unless you're Elphaba, or fixing things that can't be fixed, but rather doing those things that bring about God's dream for the world.”

79s

“I forgive you is to that neighbor whose dog wakes you up in the middle of the night, to your coworker who spreads lies about you so they would get that promotion ahead of you, to the kids at school who make up stories about you, to the partner who's promised to always care for you and then left. Forgiveness is hard, but we can do all things through God who strengthens us. Our bible stories remind us that God is with us when Joseph shared his gifts of interpreting dreams, when the widow gave her coins, when Jesus prayed in the garden. They also acknowledge that some of the things that God wants us to do are hard. Abraham sent his son away. Hagar had to face the possibility of her son's death. Esther risked her own death by telling the king that she was Jewish. We're to take up our cross and follow. But we can do all things even the hard things when we turn to God who will strengthen us.”

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