FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
PHILIPPIANS REVISITED
We’re in 2023…but don’t forget this great letter that we studied in 2022!
A thank-you note
At our final send off at Forge today, Pastor Pete focused on Paul thanking the church for the help they sent him while he was in prison: “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it” (v. 10). Although Paul is thankful for the physical help they gave, he also uses this opportunity to point the readers away from the physical, toward faith in Christ:
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (vv. 11-13).
Paul had times of plenty, and times of poverty. In both cases, he looked to the Lord, not to his physical circumstances. He was content even when in poverty because he looked to Christ. Christ did not give him strength to break out of jail, but to stay in jail. Christ did not give him the ability to turn stones into bread, but to endure hunger. This is the kind of strength Christ gives — perhaps not the kind we want, but the kind we need most.
As Pastor Pete taught us over the past month or so, Philippians is a letter that Paul wrote to a church he was fond of. There is an unmistakable tone of joy in this letter. That is remarkable because Paul wrote the letter while in a Roman prison where one of the possible outcomes was death. Paul looks not to his circumstances for joy and happiness but to his knowledge of Christ. Faith in Christ was the basis for Paul’s ability to experience joy – even in the darkest of circumstances. It doesn’t mean that he enjoyed the hard things of life or that they made him happy. But his knowledge of his Savior enabled Paul to see those things in a way that allowed him to choose joy as his response.
Everyone wants to be happy. But let’s be real – sometimes life throws things at us that are not pleasant. The better we can put our trust in God and His Word – the more we will experience joy even during the dark things of life. And then when we experience the things that makes us happy, they will be even sweeter.
The main thing is knowing Christ better and better.
Joe Bouch Forge Winter Springs
