I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me (I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength to me; I am self sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency). (Philippians 4:13 Amplified Version)

Many of us as children have called out for our parents when faced with a tough situation. I remember when I was five I decided to climb the maple tree that cast a shadow on the sand box beside our house. As a new tree climber I never considered that going up also means coming back down, and when it was too late to realize this I looked down and froze. I remember crying, and my brother went inside to get my parents. First Mom came out and didn’t know what to do, as I was quite high in the tree. Then my Dad came out and seemed to know exactly what to do… “Jump!” In my five-year-old mind, my Dad was smarter than Superman and almost as tough — so I jumped from what seemed like 100 feet and miraculously didn’t come out looking like a run-over pop can. This kind of faith as a young boy wasn’t just a rational weighing of the facts. It was a faith that came from some deeper form of knowing my Dad.

In the above passage we see the result of the Apostle Paul’s relationship to Christ: a faith that can be tested and come out stronger than before. Paul knew much hardship in his life and work. He listed the many trials in his letter to the Corinthians: whippings, shipwrecks, hunger, violence, and loneliness. Still He could say, “I am ready for anything.” The only thing to which we can attribute this kind of faith is knowing the one in whom our faith is placed. Earlier in the letter to the Philippians, Paul shared that his life’s goal was “to know Him” and that because of knowing Him (Christ), his perspective on every threatening circumstance was changed. Some say faith is a jump in the dark, but for those who know the one calling in the tough circumstances it becomes a step toward the one who personifies trustworthiness.