Click Here to Read Philippians 1:12-18

“I want you to know, dear ones, what has happened to me has not hindered, but helped my ministry of preaching the gospel, causing it to expand and spread to many people.” (Phil. 1:12 TPT).  Despite Paul’s imprisonment, his ministry to preach the gospel expanded and grew.  What a great testimony of how God takes all things and uses them for His glory.  I have to say this about Paul, he takes the cake for being a willing vessel.  This man was imprisoned multiple times, stoned, beaten within an inch of his life, shipwrecked, bitten by a deadly poisonous snake, and never seemed to allow anything to deter him away from his commission.  I don’t know how he did it.  But his example shows us that our circumstances won’t ever stand in the way of what God wants to do.  As long as we remain willing vessels, He will use us in any circumstance and will turn it all for His glory.  We should never allow circumstances to dictate to us how successful we will be in how God wants to use us.

In verse 13 Paul states that the guards and officials overseeing his imprisonment recognize that he is there because of his love for Jesus.  If I look back over the last few challenging circumstances that I’ve been through and review whether I responded in a way that displayed my love for Jesus or reacted in a way that displayed my failure to trust in Him to work it out, what would I find?  Truthfully, a mix of both.  I think some things that we face just rock us, but we are able to dig our heels into the ground and withstand the pressure to be pushed over.  Other things we face come not only unexpectedly but in very unusual ways and very quickly we can feel pushed into a corner and think we have no choice but to try to defend ourselves and forget to let God be our Great Defender.  But because of Paul’s consistency in his responses to his difficult circumstances he encouraged other believers in their faith.  In fact, he says that it was because of his chains they “became even more courageous in the Lord and (were) bold and passionate to preach the Word of God” (Phil. 1:14 TPT).

I don’t quite know how this gets accomplished in us apart from the working of the Holy Spirit, getting to know God and His ways, and growing continuously in the love of Jesus.  When we go through a crisis of some kind or a series of difficult situations and feel like we can’t seem to get a break from it we have a choice to let Holy Spirit walk us through it or try to navigate through it on our own.  But either way, we will influence people around us with our choice.  And that can either inspire them to come toward God or to walk away.  I don’t know about you but that feels like a lot of pressure.  One thing that I am finding out that helps though, is how we make choices before these difficult situations hit us.  Even down to the habits that we form in making sure that we choose to spend time with God in prayer and meditation, seeking His presence, reading His Word and understanding more about Him.  We can make small choices every day that honor Him and expose His lovingkindness to others.  Those choices will actually help us when we are in the fire because we will already be used to moving from His love and we will be more likely to patiently await His direction rather than react to what we don’t like. 

I have also found that you can think you are doing really good and out of nowhere a situation comes that you would never in your life have thought you might have to deal with and then you find out the truth about how you are really doing.  It’s hard not feel like you failed in those times, but I don’t think that is what God wants us to feel.  I think He just wants us to recognize our need for Him and also recognize some things that we still prioritize over Him.  He always wants to reconcile us to Himself, He always wants to bring us higher, but our foundation has to be rock solid.  If it isn’t, then everything He wants to give us will crush us.  So, I’m trying to use these times to really identify what I need to give Him so He can fill more of me.  This is a humbling process, but I hope to one day be able to make Him proud; having an attitude like Paul saying, “And what I’m going through has actually caused many believers to become even more courageous in the Lord…” (Phil. 1:14 TPT)     

Paul also mentions here that there are two types of groups preaching: those who preach out of competition and controversy, and those who preach out of grace and love.  The first group he says are trying to stir up trouble for him, adding to the hardships of his imprisonment because they are jealous of how God has used him.  The second recognized that Paul has been destined for the purpose of defending the revelation of God.  So, there were people trying to use the gospel to bring more suffering for Paul.  And yet he says, “Yet in spite of all of this I am overjoyed!” (Phil. 1:18 TPT).  Overjoyed he says!  Why?  Because Christ is being preached.  The mixed motives don’t matter.  If it brings more suffering on me, it doesn’t matter.  What matters is that Christ is being preached, “and I will continue to rejoice.”  This is not a logical response to persecution, it is natural for us to want to defend what we feel like we have to protect (our reputation, our livelihood, our families, etc.) but we can easily forget that God will protect and defend those things if we will just defend His love.  If we step back and give Him space to move, Holy Spirit can use anyone, anywhere, in any situation to display God’s glory.

Something that I always found interesting is that Paul was not a disciple when Jesus was on the earth.  He never walked with Jesus.  Peter and John walked with Jesus and so in a way I could see how having known him in the flesh and seen him die and be raised up could inspire and encourage them to endure all of the suffering that they did for preaching the gospel.  But Paul never knew him in the flesh.  Yet he had such a deep connection to Jesus and such a profound understanding of God’s Kingdom, and I believe that is what enabled him to have this kind of joy.  This isn’t something we can just make ourselves better at.  This only happens as our mind and heart come into alignment with the mind and heart of God.  This happens as we experience Him in new ways and as we are willing to allow Him to prune us in unpleasant ways.  Each time we choose to set aside our own thoughts and ask Him to share His thoughts, we come closer.  Each time we choose to say, “Not my will but your will”, we come closer.  He doesn’t expect us to do it in our own strength, we just have to make the choice to do it.

Let’s pray.

Father, we are so thankful for your grace and your unfailing love.  We are so thankful that even in the midst of trials you are walking with us.  Trying to teach us your ways and guide our steps.  And though there are times that we go off on our own path because we think we know better; you so gently and lovingly wait for us to return.  We ask that you show us how we can go deeper in our relationship with you.  Show us what things we need to hand over to you so that our foundation is solid and firm.  Wherever we are struggling to let go we ask that you increase our courage and our trust in you so that we can truly just let it go.  Would you cut off every dead branch that doesn’t bear good fruit so that we can be fruitful for you?  We ask Holy Spirit that when we go through tough circumstances your voice would be louder than all of the other voices, instructing us in the way that is right.  Do whatever you need to do to bring our hearts in alignment with the heart of God and what is important to Him.  We acknowledge that He is a good Father and promised to take care of all our needs so we can be free to take care of the things that matter most to Him.  In Jesus’s name we pray these things.  Amen.