Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Philippians 4:4
Paul wrote this to the early church at Philippi, while he was imprisoned in Rome. It had not been the first time the Philippian Believers had seen Paul imprisoned. Indeed, when he first had come into Philippi to preach the gospel of Christ, Paul had been beaten and thrown into prison.
And the multitude rose up together against them (Paul and Silas): and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. Acts 12: 22-24
There was never a time within the early church that those following Christ were not subject to ridicule, hostility, imprisonment, and even death for their belief. In many nations today, the same remains true. Yet, from his prison cell in Rome Paul wrote to these early Christians and urges them to rejoice in the Lord always and in every circumstance that they face. He urges them to cling fast to the joy of their salvation, the joy of their relationship with the living God that had been purchased by Christ’s death on the cross, and to the joy of fellowship among the brethren.
Paul tells these Christians that his own suffering was being used by God to further the spread of the gospel and that was a source of joy.
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. …Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Philippians 1:12-18
They had already seen this first hand when Paul had been imprisoned there in Philippi. When Paul and Silas had been imprisoned in Philippi as we read in Acts 16, that imprisonment led to the salvation of their jailor and all his family. Go back once more and look at what happened when Paul was in jail in Philippi, after having been severely beaten.
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Acts 16: 25-34
Last week, I wrote about weariness of heart and spirit that come from deep within our souls as we walk this journey of life. I pointed out that often our weariness comes from having faulty expectations of who we are, unrealistic expectations of others, and self-serving unbiblical expectations of God. Now, this week, let us turn a full 180 degrees to see how to discover joy in the midst of our suffering. Instead of just settling for a lack of depression; let us, find that steadfast joy that drives the weariness of heart far from us. That is what Paul is speaking about here in the letter to the Philippian church!
The theme of Paul’s letter is that joy is found in Jesus Christ. This is a joy that is undaunted by suffering. Over the course of this week, I plan to point out several reasons for our joy to be steadfast in the face of trials. Today, I began with purpose. For out of Paul’s suffering, the early church was born, the gospel was spread to the gentiles, and the church grew strong. Paul realized that the greatest privilege he was given was to share in God’s Glory. The most glorious act of God is the Salvation of one soul. [bctt tweet=”When God used the suffering of Paul to lead others to Christ, He shared His glory with Paul. ” username=”effiedarlene”]
At the same time, God showered His Joy upon Paul. Paul understood that there is no suffering too great for the salvation of one. A lifetime is but a split second compared to eternity. [bctt tweet=”So if it takes a lifetime of pain to change the eternity of one soul, isn’t it worth the pain? ” username=”effiedarlene”][tweetthis] How much suffering is too great to endure for the salvation of one soul?[/tweetthis]
Listen to this beautiful song Sovereign Over Us
Photo used by permission https://unsplash.com/@mastamax The inscription I added.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.