15) Strength in Suffering Series
I have the hardest time thinking about others when I’m hurting or in a tough situation. I tend feel a ton of guilt when someone who is suffering turns and helps me in my struggle. I want to tell them it’s almost too painful to accept their help. I beat myself up for not having the strength or presence of mind to do the same for them. While Paul is imprisoned, he chooses to give up a friend by his side for the sake of the Christians at Philippi.
“Yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.”
Philippians 2:25
The version of the Bible I’m using makes it sound like Paul is saying, “Well, I suppose it’s necessary…,” like Paul isn’t convinced it’s the right thing to do. If you read other translations and break down the word meanings, it becomes clear that Paul is saying, “I’ve considered this, and I think it would be the best thing to send you this friend of yours, Epaphroditus.” Paul, in his own trial, is thinking about what’s best for others. He’s thinking about what will bring them comfort, and he’s convinced he needs to send a man who has been there comforting him in a number of ways. Epaphroditus has been comforting Paul as a friend and as a worker beside him in Rome.
“For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.”
Philippians 2:26
Epaphroditus needs some comfort, too, it seems. This Christian man has suffered through an illness while in Rome, and though he’s been helping Paul, he’s undergone his own trials. He’s been longing to reunite with his brothers and sisters in Philippi because he knows they’ve been worried about him. Paul sees that sending him back to Philippi will bring refreshing to the church there and to Epaphroditus.
“For indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.”
Philippian 2:27
The phrase “sorrow upon sorrow” is eye-opening. It tells us that we can suffer sadness and hardship on top of an already existing, ongoing circumstance of suffering. Why does God allow us to face sorrow upon sorrow? Well, in this scenario Paul teaches that you can find respite and comfort in the midst of suffering. When Epaphroditus comes through his illness and is restored to his friends, this will bring joy to Paul’s heart. That is a form of comfort we don’t usually reflect on as being comfort. When something bad happens while we’re already down, who thinks, “Oh, this is going to be so relieving to me when this new problem gets worked out!” When you’re in the midst of suffering, when you’re not yet out of the trial, the natural response is more like, “Oh, not this too! God, I don’t think can’t handle anymore.” Sometimes the sorrow that comes upon sorrow acts as a vent—a smaller relief to help you handle the larger hardship. That’s how Paul sees it at least. He says of Epaphroditus,
“I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.”
Philippians 2:28
Paul is made a little less sorrowful by sharing the joy of this sibling reunion. God brings circumstances into our lives when we are suffering that seem to make it worse. Maybe it’s that Christian sister who attempts to fix you. Maybe it’s the lack of support coming from your own family. Maybe it’s an illness or a bad experience that happens while you’re already going through a hard time. Sometimes the sorrow upon sorrow overwhelms us, but there is a reason for it. God has a way of bringing us times of refreshing, the small joys, and the breaths of relief even when we are still undergoing heavy times. This is when we can smile and thank God, right in the middle of the pain.
Next, Paul discusses how to view Christians who suffer and have setbacks while trying to fulfill a mission.
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