A conduit attitude weds an outlook of optimism and determination (hope and faith) with the realization that it is only in Christ that we can do all things. Negatively put, apart from Him we can do nothing. 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13)

The little train engine famously exhorted itself as it made his way up the incline, “I think I can. I think I can.” That children’s book fosters a can-do attitude in our children, one that spills over into adulthood.

Our Lord fosters the same sort of attitude in us through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. After laying out a gamut of situations in which we might find ourselves, the apostle lets us in on the secret of sufficiency. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).

We might note that that secret of sufficiency relates to every occasion. “In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” (Phil. 4:12). That means we need Jesus and the strength He supplies not only where we are weak but also where we think we are strong. There’s never a time when we can say to Jesus that we will call Him when we need Him.

Our need for Jesus in life’s situations is akin to our need for Jesus in salvation. We repent not only of our sin; we also repent of our righteousness. Our need for Christ is absolute and abiding, both in our standing before God and our striving for God. That awareness becomes more pronounced as we mature into spiritual adulthood.

We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. In Him we find our sufficiency to handle whatever situation or whatever state we find ourselves in a way that honors God and reflects the reality of Christ in us.

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