Cut The Mustard

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

      Have you ever felt that you just didn't measure up to what was expected of you? or that you just didn't "cut the mustard?"  I believe that it was the author, O'Henry that first used the phrase, "to cut the mustard."  No one really knows why he chose mustard over ketchup or tangy mayo for that matter.  The expression has been around for about a hundred years or more and we use it to describe whether a person or an article measures up to what is expected of it.  If the object didn't work, then it was said to not "cut the mustard."  There are times in my life and probably in the lives of many others, where you feel that you just don't cut the mustard.  I can be playing in the clarinet, saxophone or even the recorder  and come across a particularly difficult run on the instrument  and easily say that I didn't cut the mustard.  Yes, there are many areas in our lives where we don't cut the mustard.  Then again, there is a thought, in fact, a principle that comes out of the Book of Philippians that gives us all some encouragement.  Philippians 4:11-13 says, "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."   The final 10 words of that section reminds us that we can certainly do all things through Christ.  Now, God is not going to let you do something that is contrary to His law.  If you jump off the top of a building and yell at the top of your voice, "I can fly," you will be in for a rude awakening in a matter of seconds when you hit the ground.  No matter how hard you might try, you are not going to overcome God's natural laws and fly just because you desire to do so.  The context of this passage reminds us that the Philippians had found themselves to be in a difficult time in their lives because they had given much for Paul's ministry even to the point of being in a hard place themselves.  Now, Paul reminds them that he has been in want and he has been in a time of no needs.  He then remarks that he has learned to be content in whatever condition he finds himself.  That is the lesson for us.  I can get through this day, through the Lord Jesus Christ.  I can be content today because of the Lord Jesus Christ.  When I feel weakness in myself, then I realize the strength that comes through the Lord Jesus Christ.  So, yes, I can do all things through Christ...I can do them because He strengthens me.  Praise God for His working in my life today.