Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.
Summary: Comparing ourselves to Paul puts our own experiences in an interesting light.
Most of us have had a bad day now and then, but very few of us have ever had bad days like Paul’s bad days.
Imagine going to work and ending up in prison — for years! Or, you are just minding your own business, trying to do your job, and somebody stirs up a riot against you. Before you get to your first coffee break, soldiers grab you and drag you off to be flogged or beaten with rods. Then, just before you clock out for the day, an angry crowd gathers around you, physically carrying you outside the city limits while simultaneously beating you up on the way. Once outside the city, they all pick up rocks and throw them at you until, bruised and bleeding, you black out from the pain (2 Corinthians 11:21-27).
No … most of us have never had a bad day like Paul’s.
Chained like an old junkyard dog, Paul is unable to go where he wants. Stuck in prison, he is forced to share his thoughts by writing his words instead of speaking face to face. In the midst of suffering frustration and pain well beyond what you or I have ever experienced, he writes:
“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.”
How does his suffering “advance the gospel?”
Paul’s job, if you will, is to represent Jesus Christ’s New Covenant with humanity (Jeremiah 31: 31-34). Some of Paul’s former coworkers think the New Covenant is just for them. Others believe that the New Covenant is only valid if you merge it with parts of the old one.
Paul sees his job differently. After a brief sit-down with the CSO (Chief Spiritual Officer), Jesus, Paul realized he had been going about his job all wrong. Now he was on the right track, but not everyone agreed with him.
Paul’s bad days were not over, yet he continues to press on for the sake of his job. He refuses to quit. Chained and in prison, Paul continues to carry out his mission of sharing the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ with everyone he meets. He may have preferred to have preached elsewhere, but being where he was brought him into contact with the people God wanted him to meet.
Application: Never give up.
Food for Thought: How do we know if God can use a situation when we can’t see anything good about the place we are in?
The old hymn states: “Trust and obey, for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
We need to trust that everything will work out for the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Now, we may not always like “the good” that God has in mind for us. If it means ending up in prison or being tortured, that does not sound good. But if it advances the gospel and people are in eternity with Christ as a result – then it is good.
So we need to trust God in those situations because He is good. His will is good. And if we are in His will He will use us for His good.
Thank you, Rich!
Trust is the key. I think it is fair to say that trust is another word for “faith.” We know God is good and all seeing and all knowing. We need to trust that his goodness drives all of the things that happen in a believer’s life.
How do we know if God can use a situation when we can’t see anything good about the place we are in?
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6
The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:6, also 6:4 8:2, 8:9, 8:11, 8:13, 14:17
Believers have become living, spiritual beings who for a short time will remain confined in physical bodies. We live by faith, not by what our eyes see, but by revelation of truth by the power of God through His Holy Spirit who resides in our hearts. Just as a newborn child cannot walk, it takes time for us to walk, run, see, hear, begin to fully comprehend this world around us. Becoming fully aware of our new self, takes time as we adjust to this wonderful new life, we have received. We will have good and not so good times but we always walk, live every moment knowing our God, our true Father is holding our hand, guiding our footsteps and protecting us from harm.
As time passes our time with God will bring freedom from the power of these physical bodies, Spiritual growth in Christ. Paul had experienced this as he attended Gods University, and spent the remainder of his life teaching the truths of God to all around him in spoken and written words given to him by God. He turned from this world into the arms of God who had opened his spiritual eyes to reality. Paul chose to disregard all the powers over his flesh in this life, as he chose to begin his eternal life now. Today we can do this if we choose to open our eyes, hearts to the truth and follow the calling of our eternal God.
2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 3:26-28, Hebrews 10:38
Thank you, Ron!
You know, I see a pattern in your comments that I also see in Scripture. We have a physical body and a spiritual one. We constantly have to choose which realm is more important to us.
Thanks Jeff, I do believe you correctly broke many words down to a few.
Ron
Your “many words” are good words, Ron! They help us “see” God’s Word in new ways! Thanks!