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I was never considered a threat on the basketball court. My awkward, 5-foot-10-inch, 125-pound frame was easily bullied under the backboard. I often tossed shots up in fear, rushing to get rid of the ball before the defense found me. However, several weeks into our JV season, I decided that the greatest need in my basketball career was not conditioning or drills, it was shoes. If I could find a good pair of basketball shoes, I could do anything.

Have you ever arrived at the far side of an experience and realized you made a faulty conclusion? Perhaps it was a social situation in which you misunderstood the dress code, only to find that you underdressed. Or maybe you misread instructions and soon discovered that you had done the task incorrectly. This is my testimony. But what happens when we do this while studying the Scriptures? Over the next several weeks, we will explore Bible verses that are often pulled out of context to teach unbiblical lessons that promote the self and miss the truth.

Perhaps the best-known passage in the New Testament flowed from the pen of Paul, 鈥淚 can do all things through Him Who strengthens me,鈥� (Philippians 4:13,听ESV). This passage is an example of what I like to call 鈥渃offee mug theology鈥�: if it sounds good, it often ends up out of context and on a coffee mug. When we consider Paul鈥檚 context, we discover three important themes: suffering, sovereignty, and satisfaction.

First, Paul suffered in prison as he wrote to the Philippian church. The darkness of that reality is contrasted starkly against the joy Paul speaks about throughout the letter, often called 鈥渢he epistle of joy.鈥� Paul wrote: 鈥淚t is right for me to feel [confidently overjoyed] about you all, because I hold you听in my heart, for you are all听partakers with me of grace,听both听in my imprisonment and in听the defense and confirmation of the gospel,鈥� (Philippians 1:7,听NIV). Despite the difficult circumstances Paul faced, joy was available amid his suffering for Jesus鈥� sake. The same is true for those of us whom God has saved by grace through faith in Jesus. Life is difficult, and joy is available.

Second, Paul never allowed himself to consider his suffering in a vacuum. He always wrote in a way that framed his experiences with the sovereign purposes of God in view. Again, Paul wrote:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really听served to advance the gospel,听so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard^听and听to all the rest that听my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold听to speak the word^听without fear鈥� (Philippians 1:12 鈥� 14,听NIV).

Often, we do not see the good purposes of God while we are suffering. However, God has revealed enough of His character for us to be able to trust His sovereign hand to redeem such seasons, protracted as they may be. No heartache is wasted in God鈥檚 economy.

Third, throughout the letter, Paul returned to the truth that satisfaction is available in Christ alone. In fact, joy is tethered to gospel satisfaction, being satisfied in Who Jesus is and what He accomplished in our place at the cross and in the resurrection (Philippians 2:1 鈥� 10). This was Paul鈥檚 context when he recorded his familiar verse: 鈥溾�� I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be听content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and听hunger, abundance and听need鈥� (Philippians 4:11b 鈥� 12,听NIV). When Paul spoke of doing 鈥渁ll things,鈥� it was not in the context of personal goals, like dunking basketballs or hitting homeruns, but in the weightier matter of being satisfied in Christ.

Can you say that of your life, friend? Or have you pulled this verse from its context and applied it to a personal goal? Have you wrongly claimed what God鈥檚 Word is not promising?

My granny bought me my first pair of basketball shoes. I squeaked down the court in those New Balance beauties and found that I had the same fumbling dribble and bad form. The shoes did not fix my problem, because my problem was not external, but internal.

The same is true here in Philippians. Paul clarified: Suffering happens, God is sovereign, and satisfaction is available through trusting the finished work of Jesus in our place. 鈥淚 can do all things鈥� does not mean we will achieve all our fitness, financial or family goals in this life. Instead, it means we can learn satisfaction in Christ amid our suffering and failures, which is infinitely better.听