Hi @karen4, thanks for these encouraging reflections on Philippians 4:13!
I really like this emphasis from BibleHub, “It is through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection that believers are empowered to face life’s challenges.”
Richard Melick explains in the New American Commentary,
A Christian’s victory comes from a conscious dependence on the Lord and his power, and that is easier understood when times get hard! One mark of maturity in Christ is that the mature know how to depend on the Lord in every situation of life, not only in those for which they assume they need help.
Sometimes we depend on Christ for help with our circumstances - our health, finances, jobs, and so on. And God welcomes this!
But ultimately, I think this is about depending on Christ to be Christlike. It is a constant battle to represent Christ’s love to others. We need Jesus to give us the strength to love as he has loved and is loving us.
P.S. Here’s another conversation we’ve had about this passage: