Our devotion this morning was based off Philippians 1: 12-13, "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ." I'll share some of my notes from the lesson here.
God chose to use Paul's suffering to advance the Gospel. This makes no sense in human terms. Who in their right mind would say, "oh, I am going to promote my cause by allowing myself to be imprisoned"? We think we know how God is going to work in our lives, we think we know how He has chosen to glorify Himself through us, but we simply don't know. God works in mysterious ways. Regardless of the circumstances God gives us, we should be prepared and ready to serve Him however He ordains. If we constantly have the mindset that the Gospel will be spread even through trials and suffering, then we will be mentally ready when God puts such difficulties into our lives. If we know and trust that God is sovereign, then we'll be prepared to respond to our suffering in a way that glorifies the Lord. Even if our circumstances seem dark and hopeless, we can rest in the knowledge that God has ordained for His own purposes. Paul was excited that he could be imprisoned for God and advance the Gospel through his suffering. Is this how we react to trials in our lives?
Advancing the Gospel does not only include justification and regeneration but also sanctification. We often think of the Gospel as simply saving people. But it doesn't stop there. After we are brought to Christ, we continue living for Him and becoming more conformed to His image. Through our suffering, we can stir up other Christians to further sanctification. Perhaps the Gospel will be advanced through our own suffering and consequent sanctification. So we cannot take too narrow a view of the Gospel and restrict only to the initial salvation of a soul, for Christianity does not stop there. God can use our tribulations to encourage other Christians or perhaps it will primarily encourage our own sanctification.
When we consider the grander scope and purpose of our trials, it puts our circumstances into a better perspective and enables us to find joy in suffering because we can be confident it is for the Lord's glory.
"Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." II Timothy 2.8-10
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