In Touch Ministries Daily Devotions - Seeing Jesus in Our Circumstances

0:00Here's today's in-touch devotion. Today's Scripture reading is Philippians 1 verses 12 through 25. Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife. But some also from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then, only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed,

1:07and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me, and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better. Yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you, all for your progress and joy in the faith.

2:11If you have the power to change your circumstances, would you? Christ of us would quickly say yes, but the reality is, we must learn to live with some heart situations since only God has the power to alter them, and in His wisdom He's allowed them to remain. Consider Paul, who desired to preach the gospel in Rome, but didn't anticipate the route God would use. He began with false accusations in Jerusalem and appealed to Caesar, a sea voyage, a ship wreck, and sometimes spent in prison. But as He sat chain to a Roman guard, He wrote that His circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, because the cause of Christ was widely known to be the reason for His imprisonment and emboldened many to speak His witnesses. What looks like a shipwreck or detour in our plans could actually be God's ordained path for us. It may include financial challenges, health issues, or relational conflicts, but there is

3:14one certainty to which we can cling. Jesus Christ is our life, and He never changes. Conditions around us will fluctuate, but if we belong to Christ, He'll use every situation to accomplish His will in and through us. May we share Paul's desire that Jesus would be exalted in us, no matter what.