The Daily Devotional Podcast

Abide | Philippians Subseries - 11 | Philippians 3:1–11

• Waypoint Church

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0:00 | 5:54

This reflection highlights that the deepest purpose of the Christian life is not achievement, status, or even religious accomplishment, but knowing Jesus personally. Using Paul’s own story, it challenges us to consider what we are building our identity around and invites us to see Christ as the only foundation that ultimately endures.

The Daily Devotional Podcast

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“May the Lord bless you and keep you — and may His presence guide you this week.”


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Today I'm reading Philippians three verses one through eleven. Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more. I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I'm a pure blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a real Hebrew if there ever was one. I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake I've discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law. Rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead. Something I've struggled with is defining myself by my collected experience. My biggest stumbling point has always been around accomplishment and impact. At my first real job, there was a clearly defined moment where me and another person stepped up into a higher role, and the entire department shifted. Our department quickly rose into the limelight. I didn't realize the amount of pride and identity I found in it until I looked around and I realized it had all fallen apart. I'm sure many people can relate to this in some way. Some people collect accomplishments, others build careers, reputations, experiences, or possessions. None of these things are inherently wrong. In fact, many of them can be gifts from God. The challenge comes when we begin looking to them for an identity they were never designed to provide. Paul knew what that was like. When he writes Philippians three, he takes inventory of the very things that once gave him confidence. He lists his credentials, his heritage, his religious devotion, and his achievements. If anyone in his generation had reason to trust his spiritual resume, it was Paul. He had spent years building a life around those accomplishments and measuring himself by them. Yet when he looks back, something's changed. I now consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Paul's not saying those things had no value. He's saying they no longer occupy the place they once held in his heart. Compared to what he's found in Jesus, everything else has been rearranged. Everything else is worthless compared to the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. Not serving Christ, not learning about Christ, knowing Christ. There's a difference between knowing facts about a person and knowing the person themselves. You can fill shelves with biographies, study every detail of someone's life, and still never experience friendship. Paul is describing something deeper than information. He's describing relationship. As he continues his desire becomes even clearer. He wants to know Christ's power, share in Christ's sufferings, and become like him. What once drove Paul's life has been replaced by a greater pursuit. That pursuit sits at the heart of abiding. The Christian life is not ultimately about accumulating knowledge, improving our image, or proving our worth. It's about knowing Jesus more deeply and allowing that relationship to reshape everything else. The world constantly invites us to build our identity on things that can be gained and lost. Success rises and falls, achievements fade, reputations shift. Even the things we work hardest to secure can prove fragile over time. Paul had experienced all of that, which is why his words carry such weight. After chasing every reason he could find to trust in himself, he discovered something better. Christ was enough.

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And once he saw the value of knowing Jesus, nothing else could compare. Before I close in prayer, here's a question to wrestle with.

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Help me see you more clearly and treasure you more deeply. Teach me to find my confidence not in what I have accomplished, but in the relationship you have invited me into.