Unabashed and confident was the apostle Paul in his purpose for living. His life was his ministry and he had no other focus than Christ and proclaiming Him to everyone he met. Whether roaming the world freely or sitting in prison, every situation provided opportunity to make Christ known.

This otherwise innocuous verse contains tremendous insight into the apostle’s psyche—what made him tick. First, his ministry was work—hard work. He said he labored. It wasn’t a task for a lazy man. Serving the Lord is not just a career option for making money and enjoying life. The life Paul enjoyed was the life of Christ, but I am sure he didn’t enjoy the painfulness of incarcerations and beatings. His life was not a journey of self-actualization or self-discovery. It was, rather, a life of laboring hard to discover more and more of Christ and His grace, and to share that knowledge with others. He described this work as “striving.” Not just putting in his hours, or being committed only to the task at hand. He was striving for something far greater than just surviving the daily grind. He was on an eternal salary. In other words, the true benefits or rewards were future. He was motivated by an inward desire for “the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ” (Phil 3:14).

In all his striving and labor, he partnered with the far greater and more powerful “Partner” and served in the Partner’s way. Yes, Paul discovered the balance, or should we say, the confluence of his own laboring and trusting in the power of God. Too many Christians whimsically say, “Let go and let God.” However, Paul would rather say this, “I am going to hold on and move ahead, but I am going to do it in the power of God.” That required resolve, sweat, pushing ahead—in short, it meant Paul needed to bring his natural initiative and industry to bear on the Lord’s mission for him, and to align his efforts with the Lord, taking advantage of the superior strength of the Spirit. It is not a setting aside of his own work, but superimposing the strength and will of God on it.

Christians err in one of two ways: 1) Serve the Lord in their own strength only, as though God weren’t even there, or 2) Sit back passively waiting for God to imbue them with spiritual strength, as though sprinkling angel-dust and they will somehow become supernaturally motivated. We need to take our lesson from the one (Paul) who taught us about the strength of the Lord, and commit to serving the Lord will all our strength, and to do it in His strength.