August 2, 2024
/
In a “Peanuts” cartoon I read recently, Lucy offered one of her unsolicited observations to Charlie Brown: “Life is like a deck chair. Some place it so they can see where they are going. Some place it so they can see where they have been. And some place it so they can see where they are at present.” Charlie Brown replied, “I can’t even get mine unfolded!” Maybe this is how you feel. You cannot get your life unfolded. With all the worry and hurry around us, it is sometimes difficult to get an honest perspective on life.
In Philippians 1:12-26, there we can get a glimpse of Paul’s deck chair which was positioned to have a clear view of where he had been, where he was presently, and where he was headed. I hope as a result of the truth that we can learn here in Philippians 1:12-26 that we would allow God to rearrange the furniture in our lives so that we will be able to better evaluate our past, cope with the present, and prepare for the future.
I will be writing three separate devotionals from this passage as it has three different sections…1:12 is Paul’s look back at where he has been, 1:13-18 is a look at where he is now (when he wrote the letter) and 1:19-26 has Paul looking to the future.
For this week I want to look at verse 12 where Paul reviews his past and it can be summed up in one sentence. What has happened to him in the past has turned out to mean greater progress for the gospel. He gives us no details here but you can read about it in the latter chapters in Acts. But to sum it up, Paul was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the Temple. As a result he was dragged into the street. and nearly lynched by a religious mob. He was then put in prison and narrowly escaped a flogging by pleading Roman citizenship. His case was a mockery of justice! Forty Jews even took a vow that they would not eat until Paul was dead. Eventually he was taken to Caesarea where he spent two years waiting in prison. Because of his appeal to Caesar, he was put on a ship and sent to Rome. On that journey, he was a shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, and forced to spend the winter on the island of Malta. When he finally reached Rome, his entry was far from triumphant. He came in the company of the condemned, bound by chains and awaiting the uncertain decision of an earthly king.
Our past suffering can prepare us to serve others more effectively Still imprisoned, chained and uncertain, he cried, “Why is this happening to me? If I had just stayed home that day in Jerusalem, this would have never happened!” No, those were not his words. That is what we would have said. Paul was not depressed, nor did he feel frustrated in any way. He did not think that God had put him on a shelf. He does not show us his bruises and ask for sympathy. Instead, he says that his suffering and imprisonment were far from being a negative experience. He exclaims, “What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel!” Paul viewed his past as preparation for ministry. One controlling factor was the truth he shared in chapter 1 verse 6: “He who began this good work in us will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God rules. The pressures in our lives are created by the hands of the Potter who is also our Father. Paul knew that the fires of life he experienced were ignited by the Refiner. God does not abandon the perfecting process to others; nor is he ever knocked off course by the wickedness of evil men or the weakness of good men. Have you learned this truth? Have your dreams lost their clarity? Maybe you know tears where there once was laughter, misunderstanding where there once was affirmation. Viewed from a human perspective, your circumstances seem to have prevented rather than prepared you for ministry.
If we will allow God to work, all of our past suffering can prepare us to serve others more effectively. The very circumstances we would have changed and form which we long to be freed are preparing us for who He wants us to be.
Blessings for the week from Jeff Miller
In Philippians 1:12-26, there we can get a glimpse of Paul’s deck chair which was positioned to have a clear view of where he had been, where he was presently, and where he was headed. I hope as a result of the truth that we can learn here in Philippians 1:12-26 that we would allow God to rearrange the furniture in our lives so that we will be able to better evaluate our past, cope with the present, and prepare for the future.
I will be writing three separate devotionals from this passage as it has three different sections…1:12 is Paul’s look back at where he has been, 1:13-18 is a look at where he is now (when he wrote the letter) and 1:19-26 has Paul looking to the future.
For this week I want to look at verse 12 where Paul reviews his past and it can be summed up in one sentence. What has happened to him in the past has turned out to mean greater progress for the gospel. He gives us no details here but you can read about it in the latter chapters in Acts. But to sum it up, Paul was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the Temple. As a result he was dragged into the street. and nearly lynched by a religious mob. He was then put in prison and narrowly escaped a flogging by pleading Roman citizenship. His case was a mockery of justice! Forty Jews even took a vow that they would not eat until Paul was dead. Eventually he was taken to Caesarea where he spent two years waiting in prison. Because of his appeal to Caesar, he was put on a ship and sent to Rome. On that journey, he was a shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, and forced to spend the winter on the island of Malta. When he finally reached Rome, his entry was far from triumphant. He came in the company of the condemned, bound by chains and awaiting the uncertain decision of an earthly king.
Our past suffering can prepare us to serve others more effectively Still imprisoned, chained and uncertain, he cried, “Why is this happening to me? If I had just stayed home that day in Jerusalem, this would have never happened!” No, those were not his words. That is what we would have said. Paul was not depressed, nor did he feel frustrated in any way. He did not think that God had put him on a shelf. He does not show us his bruises and ask for sympathy. Instead, he says that his suffering and imprisonment were far from being a negative experience. He exclaims, “What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel!” Paul viewed his past as preparation for ministry. One controlling factor was the truth he shared in chapter 1 verse 6: “He who began this good work in us will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God rules. The pressures in our lives are created by the hands of the Potter who is also our Father. Paul knew that the fires of life he experienced were ignited by the Refiner. God does not abandon the perfecting process to others; nor is he ever knocked off course by the wickedness of evil men or the weakness of good men. Have you learned this truth? Have your dreams lost their clarity? Maybe you know tears where there once was laughter, misunderstanding where there once was affirmation. Viewed from a human perspective, your circumstances seem to have prevented rather than prepared you for ministry.
If we will allow God to work, all of our past suffering can prepare us to serve others more effectively. The very circumstances we would have changed and form which we long to be freed are preparing us for who He wants us to be.
Blessings for the week from Jeff Miller
August 2, 2024
/
