Philippians 1:18-20 "What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. (19) For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, (20) According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death."
Rejoicing in tribulation!?! How can that be? Paul is saying that as he hears
other prisoners speak about Jesus, he is rejoicing. Other prisoners! Remember,
he is in prison. In his bonds, he still preaches Christ Jesus and Him
crucified. How could he rejoice? Let's look at something Paul wrote to
the Corinthians. He had asked the Lord to remove from him that which had caused
him much misery. He referred to it as a "thorn in the flesh". The
Lord had said, "I will not remove it, but this is what I will do."
And he said unto me, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness." To which Paul then said, "Most gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may
rest upon me." (2 Corinthians 12:9) It was in this "grace"
of strength that Paul could rejoice even as he was in the dark, damp prison
cell. Even when the Lord does not remove that which causes us pain, heartache,
and misery, He has promised to give us strength to endure. Whatever our
circumstances, we are still to honor and lift up the name of Jesus.
"This shall turn to my salvation." It is very important that as we
read the word, salvation, that we do not automatically place it in the sense of
fundamental salvation (deliverance) into God's family. We can be assured
that Paul is already a child of God, yet he is praying for salvation. He is not
necessarily praying to be delivered from prison, though anyone in that position
would want to be released. It seems as you look in the context of these
passages that Paul is praying to be delivered from himself and his own selfish
wants. His desire is to be delivered to the place where in every state of life,
he will be diligent to exalt the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is praying
that he will not say or do anything which will bring shame upon the cause of
Christ and upon himself. He wants Jesus Christ to be magnified in all that
comes upon him whether it be life or death.
The Lord has promised grace for every need in life, whether it be to live or
die. It seems Paul is facing the reality that he may not come out of prison
alive. Yet in all that, his one desire is that others would see the power of Jesus
Christ in his death. If the Lord saw fit to bring about his release from
prison, his one desire was that others would see the power of Jesus Christ in
the manner he conducted himself.
What is my desire in life? As I look at my approach to life, I am just now
having to take inventory of the manner in which I conduct myself each day. Can
others see Christ in me? Going even deeper, is that the very desire of my
heart? Am I living for the cause of Steve, or am I living for the cause of
Christ?
Deep thoughts.