We watch the TV and see that the good life consists of driving a certain car, drinking a certain beer or wearing certain clothes. In this passage, we hear St. Paul’s secret to prosperity even when he was in prison. The Philippians sent him money to take care of him while he was in prison. This letter is a thank-you note. But the gift was not the secret to his prosperity.

Paul was grateful for the gift, but he takes this opportunity to teach something profound about the secret of prosperity and the good life. Conventional wisdom would say that the good life is impossible when you are in prison. But Paul tells his friends that he is prospering. He has learned the secret of how to do it. It is in v 12. 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, whether well fed or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. What is the secret? The secret is to live in Jesus and receive contentment from him.

This goes against what we are bombarded with by the media. There you hear that the good life consists in owning this new thing or having this new style. And it never delivers. Sure the new toy is fun for a while. But then it gets broken, or you get tired of it. You need a new, new thing in order to have that excitement that you hope will fulfill you. Ecclesiastes 1:8 says that they eye is never full in seeing or the ear in hearing. We always want more.

St. Augustine wrote about this in his autobiography over 1500 years ago. He prays, "O Lord, you have made us for yourself and we are restless until we find our rest in you." This is the secret that Paul had discovered. He would rest in Christ. His value was not determined by those who beat him or threw him in jail. His value was not determined by those who forgot him or even those who remembered him in jail. His purpose was being a disciple of Jesus, a follower of Jesus. He trusted in the Lord who would make all things work together for his good.

This is what he means in v 13: I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. This does not mean that I can fly by flapping my arms or I can stop a charging automobile or some such thing. What it means is that I can live in any situation with contentment and prosperity because Christ empowers me to live that way. This verse is crucial to understanding what it means to live the good life. Things break. Situations disappoint. Christ is faithful through it all.

We need to understand this principle because, like Paul, we will spend time in prison as well. Perhaps a medical one. We have to submit to the surgeon’s knife or the powerful chemicals or radiation or perhaps all three. Our body is weakened by the disease as well as the cure. We ache until we can’t think straight. We are in a prison every bit as real as the one Paul is in. What will we do then? Is life over? Is there no possibility to prosper? Is our life defined by ALS, or AIDS, or heart disease or cancer? It is when you are in that sort of prison that you need to know the secret that Paul is talking about. It is then when you need to be able to say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and will fear no evil, O Lord, because you are with me."

We have other prisons that hold us: addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography, rage, envy—indeed, sin is an addictive prison. But Christ came to set the prisoner free. The solution to the problem that binds the addict is Christ. What can we do when we are held in these prisons? If we are defined by them, we will not have contentment. We must turn to Jesus who came to set us free.

When we look to Jesus for our prosperity and blessing we will get all we need according to God’s glorious riches in Christ Jesus (v19). We are not guaranteed all the glittering things the world says are trappings of the good life. We will get what we truly need for the good life that God has provided in Christ. Your heavenly Father knows that you have physical needs. But you, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and God will take care of the rest.

That is the secret of the Apostle Paul. That is why he had joy, not depending on circumstance, which changes, but upon God who does not. What are you hoping in? Where are you spending your time looking for the good life? What are you investing your life in? What do you think will give you prosperity? Is it the Lord? If so, then you will find that you can do all things, endure all sort of situations because Jesus is your strength. You will find that God will supply all of your needs according to his riches in glory.