Philippians 4:13 in context
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13, KJV) is often read as a promise that we will succeed at whatever we attempt. Read the two verses before it, though, and the meaning comes into focus.
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Paul wrote this from prison (Philippians 1:13). He had known plenty and he had known hunger, and he says, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11, KJV). The all things of verse 13 are the circumstances of verse 12: being full or hungry, having much or having nothing.
So Philippians 4:13 is not a promise that you will win the game, get the job or beat the illness. It is a promise that Christ will give you what you need to stay faithful and content whether you win or lose. That is a stronger promise, not a weaker one, because it still holds on the day things go wrong. Paul then thanks the Philippians for sharing in his trouble (Philippians 4:14): Christ's strength often comes through other people.
Isaiah 40:31 (KJV): they shall mount up with wings as eagles
Isaiah 40 opens with “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people” (Isaiah 40:1, KJV), right after the prophet has told King Hezekiah that Babylon will one day carry off his treasures and his sons (Isaiah 39:6-7). These are words for people facing a long, hard road. The chapter ends with this promise:
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Two things are worth noticing. First, the KJV says “wait upon the LORD” (Isaiah 40:31, KJV) and the NIV says “hope in the Lord” (Isaiah 40:31, NIV). Both are right. The Hebrew word, qavah, means to wait for, to look for, to hope: waiting that leans forward, expecting God to come through.
Second, look at the order: mount up, run, walk. You might expect it to build up to flying. It goes the other way. Some days God lifts you above it all. More often He helps you run without giving up, and on the hardest days He helps you simply walk and not faint. Walking counts. If reading is too much today, Faithero can read Isaiah 40 aloud to you in the King James Version, even with your screen locked.
When you have no strength left
Sometimes the honest prayer is not “make me strong” but “I can't.” The Bible has room for that.
“But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.”
“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.”
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed”
“neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”
Paul asked God three times to take away his thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-8). God did not remove it. He gave Paul something else: grace that was enough, and a strength that showed up best in weakness. Psalm 73:26 says the same thing from the inside. The writer admits his body and heart are failing, then says God is the strength of his heart and his portion for ever. Your weakness is not a barrier to God's strength. Often it is the very place He meets you.
If having no strength left has turned into thoughts of ending your life, please reach out now. In the US and Canada, call or text 988. In the UK and Ireland, call Samaritans on 116 123. Anywhere else, findahelpline.com will show you who to call. You do not have to be strong alone. Our Bible verses about depression and prayers for strength may also help.
Frequently asked
What are the best Bible verses about strength in hard times?
Start with Isaiah 40:31, Psalm 46:1, Philippians 4:13 and 2 Corinthians 12:9. Psalm 46:1 says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1, KJV). Isaiah 40:29 is a quieter one worth knowing: "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength" (Isaiah 40:29, KJV).
What does Philippians 4:13 really mean?
In context, Paul is talking about contentment. He has learned to be content "both to abound and to suffer need" (Philippians 4:12, KJV), and he says Christ gives him the strength to do it. The verse promises strength to stay faithful in any circumstance, not success in everything we try.
What does it mean to wait upon the Lord in Isaiah 40:31?
The Hebrew word, qavah, means to wait for, look for or hope. That is why the KJV says "they that wait upon the LORD" (Isaiah 40:31, KJV) and the NIV says "those who hope in the Lord" (Isaiah 40:31, NIV). It is not idle waiting but trusting expectation, like watching the road for someone you know is coming.
What are good Bible verses about strength in the KJV?
Good King James verses on strength include "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13, KJV), "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might" (Ephesians 6:10, KJV) and "The LORD is my strength and my shield" (Psalm 28:7, KJV). Isaiah 40:31 and Nehemiah 8:10 belong on the list too.
What are some short Bible verses about strength?
Short ones to memorize: "for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10, KJV); "the joy of the LORD is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10, KJV); "God is the strength of my heart" (Psalm 73:26, KJV); and "as thy days, so shall thy strength be" (Deuteronomy 33:25, KJV).
Is it wrong to feel weak as a Christian?
No. Paul admitted weakness, the psalmists wrote from exhaustion, and in Gethsemane Jesus Himself "began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy" (Mark 14:33, KJV). God's answer to Paul was not "try harder" but "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9, KJV). Feeling weak is not failing; it is often where God's strength is seen.
Strength for today
One of the quieter strength verses in the Bible comes from Moses' blessing over the tribes of Israel. Speaking of the tribe of Asher, he says, “as thy days, so shall thy strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25, KJV). It was first spoken to one tribe, but it fits the way God gives strength all through Scripture: not for next month, or for every what-if you can imagine at three in the morning, but for the day you are actually in.
Manna came one day at a time (Exodus 16:4). Mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:23). So if you are worn out, you do not have to find strength for the whole road tonight. Ask for today's. Then rest, and ask again tomorrow.
Where does strength come from in hard times?
The Bible is honest that human strength runs out: “Even the youths shall faint and be weary” (Isaiah 40:30, KJV). What it offers instead is a God who does not get tired and who shares His strength with people who lean on Him.
Psalm 46 goes on to picture the earth giving way and the mountains falling into the sea, and still says, “Therefore will not we fear” (Psalm 46:2, KJV). The strength it describes is not the absence of trouble but God's presence in it. Ephesians 6:10 opens Paul's description of the armor of God: the strength is the Lord's, and we stand in it.