(7) Strength in Suffering Series
A man with his freedom taken from him, awaiting judgement by the Roman emperor, is rejoicing in his chains. It isn’t that he isn’t suffering; he is joyous despite the awful trial. How did Paul have this view of his situation?
“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” – Philippians 1:18-21
When I am in great suffering, silent suffering, I ask myself two questions, “Is what I’m going through right now, is it possible it might, in some way, keep someone else from suffering? And, would I choose to suffer to help them?” There’s something about seeing that my suffering is benefiting someone else that makes it easier to bear. When Paul speaks of his suffering, it’s clear he’s making a choice to endure it because others are going to be helped. He sees his role. He brings the Philippian Christians into a closer relationship with their Heavenly Father as they pray and talk to God about their brother in chains. Without knowing the future, Paul confidently counts the gains in the future, and we can do that, too. It’s good to look at the situation God has put us in and thank God that we can help others through our suffering. Yes, your situation is one that God has put you in, whether you made ungodly decisions and are now trying to follow God or you’re suffering in a situation that wasn’t of your own making. We as Christians find ourselves in both types of scenarios, and we are meant to learn from both.
The Christian woman who has made ungodly decisions can have consequences for her past wrongs, but that doesn’t mean she’s without support. It doesn’t mean she can’t be joyous in God. Paul made ungodly decisions, too, when he was Saul. In fact, Paul’s imprisonment in Rome can be traced back to his life before his conversion. He was once zealously against Christ and His Church. He came to realize he was sinning against God and changed, taking on the hardships of a life deeply dedicated to spreading the gospel. He did not work to undo what he had done. He did not live in the guilt of his past sins. Instead, he took that determination he’d formerly used against Christ and used it for Christ. He took his knowledge of the political powers he’d once used against the Church and used it for the Church. This was Paul’s method because these were Paul’s life experiences and his personality. Consider your life experiences and personality, dear sister. What traits once drove you down the wrong path? Can you use those same traits to serve God instead? The antidote to sin is not trying to make up for what you did wrong. The sins have already been forgiven. The antidote to sin is leaving those wrongs behind and focusing on your hope in Christ as you acknowledge His complete love and acceptance of you. So, rejoice in Christ and serve God by using your personality, your know-how, your strengths and weaknesses, and the very traits that once caused you to suffer. You won’t be serving God in the same ways Paul served because you’re not Paul. Yet, you can turn your suffering into joy, just like he did.
Paul says the suffering he endures will “turn out for my deliverance.” He is not talking about being delivered out of prison. He is talking about a lasting deliverance from suffering. He is looking forward to that eternal deliverance that comes by the promise of God for those who wait on the Lord. That is what we wait on, too. Serving God takes endurance; that’s suffering that ends in a Christian’s deliverance from pain to joy.
Paul tells these Christians praying for him about another problem weighing on his mind. This problem goes hand in hand with suffering. He says, “that in nothing I shall be ashamed.” All Christians suffer shame in life. Some feel ashamed of themselves for past wrongs, but that is not shame God wants us to hold onto. Some have the weight of shame placed on them by public eyes and public judgment, but that is not shame God wants us to hold onto. Being a Christian means seeing past the in-the-moment humiliation and anger and pain and looking at things the way God sees them. He wants you to cut ties with that shame—the shame of the past and what others try to place on you. It is unfortunate that we Christian women can be just as judgmental and shame-pushing as those in the world. Why do we tend to look for something to blame when someone is suffering? Paul was having to push away the shame in being a public prisoner. Just being imprisoned by the Roman government would cause tons of Christians to question whether Paul had actually done something wrong. We Christians are prone to doubt like this. Perhaps we do it thinking we’re protecting ourselves because our minds don’t want to believe something so unjust can happen. If that injustice could happen to Paul, then all the Christians were open to the same injustice. And that’s a scary thought. It’s much more appealing to believe Paul’s suffering was a consequence of his wrongdoing. This is exactly how Job’s friends dealt with Job’s suffering. They could not accept that Job could suffer so horribly without doing something wrong because that meant it could happen to them. We are frail and fragile creatures, and we can seek a false protection by blaming others for the suffering they are undergoing. Do we appease our own senses of justice when our faithful sister suffers an unimaginable situation? Do we tend to look for her faults and mistakes to blame her instead of considering how her walk with God will be hampered by our added censure? Paul was not a perfect man, but his imprisonment was not a punishment for some wrong. I will keep this in mind when I’m tempted to judge a sister’s hardship.
Shame is a fierce opponent. It slinks along, accompanied by guilt, and steals our joy. In the place of shame, Paul asks God to fill him with boldness, that is confidence, as he continues in his role as a Roman prisoner. Satan uses the weapons of guilt and shame against Christians constantly. Online, I’m always accosted by posts that cause me guilt. I’m alluding to posts from Christians that make me question whether I’m doing enough, kind enough, studying enough, smiling enough, praying enough, etc. This does more to steal joy than Christians realize. Social outlets are blitz machines where content often has no context. Can you think of a single time when Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram inspired you by reminding you that you’re still short of the mark? What we need is confidence that we are right on target because God is in control. God and His promises allow us to let go of the shame and enjoy the good life in Him. Online and in life, we can celebrate joy and boldness—the good life in Christ. And there’s no need to hide behind a smile. Joy and boldness are seen in the words of Christians who are suffering and requesting God’s help through prayers, too. Paul blitzes us with one of these confident and joy-filled sayings when he says, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” That is a bold statement for every Christian. A Christian woman’s future is win-win, regardless of her circumstances in the moment.
Paul’s victorious perspective continues in the next verses.