This week it’s been the leak under the sink instead of the writing I’d planned, or a sick animal instead of the time I meant to spend in the garden. One thing goes off and it doesn’t just take an hour, it pushes everything else, and it’s easy to feel like you’re behind on everything you’re supposed to be doing. If you’ve been there too, this one’s for you.
In our Christian walk, it’s not uncommon to encounter tests, challenges, and opposition to our efforts to obey God’s calling, follow His direction, and please Him. During these stressful times, the push-back, questioning, feelings of despair and abandonment, even intimidation, feel real and overwhelming. It’s easy to question ourselves, and for that matter, even question God.
When our circumstances feel like a complete mess, our minds begin to race, and we wonder:
- Have I completely missed the boat?
- Am I truly in the Lord’s will?
- Am I obeying His calling?
- Is there any purpose in any of this?
- Where’s God? Is He in control? Does He know? Does He care?
Well today, we have some very good news for you from Philippians 1:12-14, which gives some amazing insight into how God is always working in our circumstances, even when times seem chaotic, unfair, and off track. In fact, God has an amazing way of using situations like a boomerang to flip the tables for His glory.
From a jail cell in Rome, and with great joy, Paul writes to the Christian believers in the city of Philippi this message:
“I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.”
Paul begins this good news with a story of ironic delight: his situation, and the motives behind it, boomeranged. What some meant for evil, God turned into something good.
Paul states that his imprisonment for following and obeying his calling to believe, live for, and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message of Jesus Christ’s grace, mercy, and salvation prospered and spread all over the place, touching and changing everyone, including the soldiers who were his captors. The Message of Jesus Christ had spread like wildfire, and everyone was blessed by it.
Paul further elaborates:
Everyone here heard that I was being persecuted and imprisoned because of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Chosen One. And folks, here’s the twist: when the soldiers and other believers heard I was imprisoned for following Jesus, it piqued their curiosity, and they all wanted to learn more. And in following that curiosity to get to the bottom of things, God flipped the switch for His glory. My prison captors, the Roman soldiers, actually became captives of the Good News of Jesus Christ.
And with that, Paul says, God used this opportunity to give everyone more confidence and courage. In fact, the believers here are so fired up that they’re speaking out fearlessly about God and Jesus Christ.
God used my imprisonment, my terrible, horrible, no-good situation, and blessed it, converting it into something for His glory. What a story!
This week, we want to encourage you to remember: even though you might believe your calling, your ministry, your obedience as a disciple of Jesus Christ is locked up and imprisoned, just remember, God loves to boomerang your circumstances to pique the curiosity of others, to win them through His grace and mercy, to save and bless others.