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But I want you to know, brethren, that the
things which happened to me, have actually turned out for the furtherance of
the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all
the rest, that my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord,
having become more confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word
without fear.
Philippians
1:12-14 (NKJV)
The Apostle
Paul writes words to the believers at Philippi that we all might want to
meditate on.
He tells them
and us his chains are ‘in the Lord’. My study Bible has a study note that gives
me pause. “Paul saw everything through the lens of his service to Christ. All
the things that happened to Paul-imprisonments, trials, hardships-served to
further the gospel. (1)
We very
quickly learn that, as believers, each of us will have times of hardship. We
know we have choices about how we can react to those difficulties. People who
are in different stages of their Christian walk watch how we react to our
problems.
The way we
respond to those issues that present themselves to us influence those watching.
We can learn
from Paul how to respond to our circumstance. As I sit here writing these
words, I realize the number of times I have said “that’s in God’s hands”, or “God
has His hands on this.”
Prayer:
Father God; We thank You for allowing us to know that you are in control of all
that happens in our lives. We ask that we always look at those events through
Your eyes. We give You praise. In Jesus’
Name, I pray. AMEN
(1) Jeremiah Study Bible © 2013 Worthy
Publishing Co. Hachette Book Group, New York p.1657
Thank you, Cecelia, for this very thoughtful post. I know God is in control, and I trust Him to do what is right in all things. But right now I find I am getting impatient and want Him to act more quickly on behalf of those in peril, especially in Ukraine. My heart is breaking to see what is happening to those people, many of whom are believers. How their faith is being tested! Praying for God to intervene on their behalf and stop this madness before it gets worse.
ReplyDeletePamela: Yes, we have to trust God. I found out this afternoon that our church has had two men go to meet Jesus. One was expected. The second one was quite sudden. What has happened to those in Ukraine is truly a heart-break. I am saddened by the loss of so many children. Yes, their faith is being tested in ways we can only imagine. All we can do is pray for them.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog
ReplyDeleteRajani: Thank you for stopping in. Thank you, also, for your kind words.
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