November 9, 2023

Scripture: Philippians 1:29-30 – “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.”

What it means

Wait a minute…who said anything about having to suffer when we become a Christian? Well, Paul does actually, in his letter to the church of Philippi. The title of this section towards the end of chapter 1 is “Life Worthy of the Gospel”, and if we slow down and think about this just a little, having to suffer a little bit in this life is okay…if it’s worth it, right?  A life worthy of the Gospel…I found one translation of this that actually says “For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him.”  So, what’s the purpose of having to suffer just because we love Jesus? Can God make something good come out of it? Yes, actually, He can and He does! He uses all the good stuff for His honor and glory, but also even the bad stuff.  All of our pain, mistakes, troubles, failures, trials and tribulations, bad decisions…all opportunity for creating praise for our Creator.

What it means to me

To be perfectly frank with you, I hate it when I have to suffer, even just a little bit.  Whenever you start thinking that you have life pretty tough, take a look/listen to all that Paul endured in His lifetime (2 Corinthians 6:4-5 gives you a pretty good idea).  And yet…it was a privilege for Paul to suffer for being a disciple of Jesus.  It was well worth it, and he knew it.  We live in a broken world, and just because we sign up for a new life with Jesus, that doesn’t mean that all of our difficulties in life magically go away.  On the contrary, you might even discover a few new ones that crop up, but it’s okay. You see, you are now living a life that is worthy of the Gospel, so hang in there.  Life might be really difficult for you right now, but you are laying up for yourselves treasures in Heaven that will far outweigh any temporary problems now.

Love you guys, see you Sunday!

In Christ,

Brian