Twin City church of Christ Blog
“Nov 5, 2024 - Rejoicing in Hardship”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsRejoicing in Hardship
Reading: Philippians 1:12-18
Paul wants to tell the Philippians how he is coping with “what has happened to me”(Phil 1:12). What he is referring to depends on our interpretation of when Philippians is written, but at the very least he is discussing his unjust imprisonment and the limitations it has placed on his preaching work. It looks like bad news. “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ”(Phil 1:12-13). Surprisingly, Paul’s imprisonment has furthered (rather than limited) the gospel. Now “the whole imperial guard” has a front-row seat to Christian faith. Now other Christians, bolstered by Paul’s courage, “are much more bold to speak the word without fear”(Phil 1:14). God has used hard circumstances to spread his word.
But Paul also knows that some onlookers are less noble. “Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry”(Phil 1:15), operating from “selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment”(Phil 1:17). They see Paul’s imprisonment as an opportunity to grow more prominent or gain more loyalty from fellow believers. This also might discourage Paul, but he will not allow it. “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice”(Phil 1:18). If they are preaching from evil motives, at least they are preaching! Paul chooses to see the good in an imperfect situation and find grounds for rejoicing.
Joy is a major theme of Philippians, yet it is all the more shocking that Paul is rejoicing while wrongfully imprisoned. Joy feels impossible when we are suffering, when we don’t understand, and when we are disappointed in others. Paul teaches us to look beneath the surface of our circumstances and seek out the good. What is God doing? How is he blessing and sustaining his people? How can my struggles help others? How is God being glorified? It is a mark of maturity to rejoice in hard times.
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One Thing to Think About: Why do we sometimes feel that positivity is naïve?
One Thing to Pray For: Vision to see the good around us, no matter how disastrous the situation
