05132023 Circumstances

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God who does all things well. We don’t always see how that is true at the moment. Nevertheless, it is always true.

Paul wrote, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11). He is talking about circumstances - good circumstances or bad circumstances, abundance or poverty. I’m sure Paul wasn’t happy about being poor or hungry, abased or beaten. Those negative circumstances didn’t make him happy in themselves, but he was able to be content. He could rest peacefully, willing to remain in those conditions for as long as God deemed them appropriate.

Paul shared some thoughts in chapter 1 that shed light on his statement in chapter 4. “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me” (1:12). Let’s stop there for a minute. What is he talking about?

“The things which happened unto me” – that’s his circumstances. These particular circumstances were that he was in jail. He tells us in chapter 4 that he can be content in any circumstances, so how does that play out when those circumstances include jail? How can he be content there?

“The things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel” (1:12). Paul was perceptive enough to see what God was doing through his circumstances. This is the summary statement: "the furtherance of the gospel," but Paul breaks it down into three components. How did God use Paul’s circumstances?

First, his imprisonment was well-known. He was something of a celebrity prisoner. He was on display – “manifest in all the palace” (1:13). Paul is talking about the governor’s palace and by implication the praetorian guard. People in Rome were being saved because of Paul’s imprisonment. (See 4:22).

Second, “many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (1:14). Paul’s testimony was encouraging others to share the gospel. Christians were growing in their boldness, and the Word was going forth in power.

Third, sadly, others were preaching Christ “of envy and strife … of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to [Paul’s] bonds” (1:15-16). Their motives were totally wrong. Their hearts were wrong. But the end result was good, in spite of them. “Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached” (1:18). The gospel was getting exposure.

Those first two aspects of the negative circumstance are easier to swallow – Romans being saved, and believers being emboldened. The third one, not so much. But even that negative aspect within the negative circumstance was viewed positively by Paul. He was content with that.

Paul wasn’t the only one facing negative circumstances. Many of his fellow believers were also facing suffering. They were sharing in Paul’s experience (1:7), and they were facing adversaries of their own (1:28). They were suffering for Christ’s sake (1:29). They were “having the same conflict” as Paul (1:30). What did Paul tell the Philippians about that? “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ … to suffer for his sake” (1:29). This suffering was given, granted to them, like a gift, a favor or kindness.

What!!! How can suffering be a gift? The answer that Paul seems to have in mind is that the unpleasant circumstance was a means of furthering the work of the gospel. The circumstance was allowing them to be partakers in the gospel, and it gave them the setting and the window through which they could see results for the sake of Christ.

God allowed Paul to perceive the good that was happening through his unpleasant circumstance. Sometimes we also get to see the good. But sometimes we don’t. What then? We just have to take God’s word for it. We have to trust Him, knowing that He really does orchestrate all things for good purposes. We have to cling to the known reality that God does not waste anything and that He never allows His children to suffer in vain.

I’ll be honest. I’m not always content in my circumstances. Even if I “know” mentally that God is doing good through them, my heart doesn’t always enthusiastically embrace that knowledge. I would rather be done with the circumstances. Where does that leave me? Hopefully, reminders like this one from Paul help me to at least realize that God is using the circumstances. At the very least, that knowledge should impel me to say, “Okay, God. If this is what You choose, I will submit.” Hopefully, my heart can find hope to trust that there will be good from this, even if I don’t see it now. (Or don’t really care even if I do see it.) I should be willing to accept whatever role or circumstance God deems appropriate within His plan.

Contentment is all about submitting to God. It is allowing Him to choose the circumstances. It is clinging to faith that He has a reason for them. It is choosing to believe that God knows exactly what He is doing and why. It is resting in the reality of good outcomes even when those outcomes are not yet revealed to me.

I pray that God will help your hearts also to have this confidence, that He will help you to rest in His choice of circumstances, even as you perhaps remain in darkness about what He is doing through them. Because He is doing something through them. Praise God, that in spite of our weakness, God can use our lives for the furtherance of the gospel. May we be willing channels.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA