More Than Doing Things for God · Day 4
Where You Place Your Trust
By Wolisson Nascimento Santos
“Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:”
Philippians 3:4 · King James Version (KJV)
In Philippians 3, Paul presents the credentials he could rely on: his background, his knowledge of the Law, his dedication. He knew how much people valued that list.
Keeping the Sabbath, knowing the Law, and having zeal were not bad things. The problem was where he placed his trust. He was leaning on them.
The question reaches us when something slips out of our control. When criticized, do you need to list everything you have done? When you fail, do you feel you have lost the right to turn to God? Those reactions show where you have been looking for security.
Think of trust as shelter: when the week falls apart, where do you run?
If you run to what you have done, you will get wet. Not because it is too little — but because it was not made to be a roof. You can be grateful for what you have built and still entrust Christ with the weight of holding your life.
Run to him. There is room for all of you.
The context
This verse opens the list. Paul is saying: if the conversation is about having something to lean on, I have more than you. And the phrase he uses is “confidence in the flesh” — which does not mean the body. It means everything you can show.
He spends two verses displaying that résumé precisely so he can drop it in front of everyone.
Did you know?
“Flesh”, in Paul's vocabulary, almost never means the body. The Greek dictionaries define it, among other things, as the symbol of what is outward — the visible side of a person. To have confidence in the flesh is to lean on what can be seen: what you do, what people say about you, what is in the photograph.
A line to keep
When the week caves in, where do you run? That is what you trust.
Today’s challenge
Open your phone and look at the app you used most this week. Before you open it today, spend five minutes with God.
In the Antioquia app, each devotional also has a narrated story, questions about the text and guided prayer — one a day, with your progress saved.