Philippians: My Chains Won't Strain My Faith

This blog is about pages 145-147 in the book The Smart Guide to the Bible: Paul and the Prison Epistles.

In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul writes that the things that have been happening to him have actually turned out for good. Even though he was in chains, he was able to witness to the guards, write letters, and “speak the word without fear.” Although he was most likely upset when he was first imprisoned because he couldn’t continue to preach, God eventually showed him that good could come from this situation. God can use any situation for good.

Billy Graham said, “When you bake a cake, you put in raw flour, baking powder, soda, bitter chocolate, shortening, etc., none of which taste very good in themselves, but which work together to make a delicious cake. And so with our sins and our mistakes—although they are not good in themselves, if we commit them in honest, simple faith to the Lord, He will work them out His own way and in His own time make something of them for our good and His glory.”

That really got me thinking. There are things that have happened to me and things I have done that are terrible. When they were happening, I thought, “This is the end. How can God use this?” But looking back, I have seen how God has already used them, and I can only imagine how He plans to use them yet.

Because of the painful experiences I’ve been though, I can relate to almost anyone! God has worked an amazing work in my life, as bad as those things were, and He can do that same work in anyone’s life.

I remember hearing a woman speak at a church I went to. She was talking about an addiction her husband had. She said that all she could see what death, but God was sitting there ready to show her new life. That always stuck with me. When we see death and an end, God sees new life and a great beginning. I know it’s hard to keep such a positive attitude when we’re in the middle of a situation, but sometime’s just changing to a heavenly perspective is all we need. Our God is bigger than any situation we will ever face!