Center for Biblical Theology and Eschatology
Rejoicing in the Midst of Hardship
by Frank Thielman
What relevance do the Letters of the Apostle Paul have for us today? This month we continue our exploration of Paul's writings with his Letter to the Philippians. Our prayer is that through these monthly studies you will come to live more fully in the grace of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. I never will forget the day that my wife pulled into the driveway following a pregnancy check-up. She walked into the house and announced, "The doctor says that I have to go to bed."
"For how long" I naïvely asked.
"Until the baby comes," she replied to my utter astonishment.
Until the baby comes? That's five months, I thought. What are we going to do?
We already had an active two-year-old and had no family living near us to help us; and on top of my busy work schedule, I was finishing a book under a tight deadline.
Immediately God began to meet our needs. During the next five months, people in our church brought scores of meals to us. Fellow believers volunteered to baby-sit. My sister-in-law left her own active toddler with her parents and traveled hundreds of miles to stay with us and help us out. These people didn't think that they were being heroes--they just were helping people in need.
I am sorry to say that the wonder of this miracle going on around me completely passed me by. Although grateful for all the help, I spent the entire five months feeling sorry for myself and obsessing about how I would ever get my work done. When God brought hardship and threw a wrench into "my work," it never occurred to me to ask whether "His work" was more important than my own. Oddly, I was of the opinion that the two were identical. How could I get God's work done when He was so thoroughly impeding my progress?
I should have read the Apostle Paul's short Letter to the Philippians more carefully. Paul's message is simple, and it is as relevant to the difficulties of life today as it was to the embattled Philippians 20 centuries ago. If the advancement of the Gospel is a top priority in our lives, Paul wrote, then we can rejoice even in difficult circumstances as we watch God work within those circumstances to advance the Gospel.
The Story Behind Philippians
When Paul wrote to the Philippians, both he and they were suffering. Paul's proclamation of the Gospel had landed him in a Roman prison (Philippians 1:7, 13, 17, 20). To make matters worse, even though some believers had rallied around Paul, other preachers had taken advantage of Paul's imprisonment to slander Paul and to make his already bad situation worse (Philippians 1:15-17)
The Philippians were going through the same kind of struggle that Paul was enduring (Philippians 1:30). Unbelievers were opposing the Philippians; and internal dissension, perhaps fueled by "selfish ambition," (Philippians 2:3) had broken out within the Philippian community (Philippians 1:28; Philippians 2:14; Philippians 4:2-3). As if this were not enough, the Philippian Christians worried about the fate of their beloved apostle. How was he faring in prison? Would he survive this ordeal to return to them and strengthen their beleaguered church? (Philippians 1:25; Philippians 2:30; Philippians 4:6; 10-11)
In part to alleviate these concerns, the Philippians sent a messenger named Epaphroditus with a gift for Paul from their Church (Philippians 2:25, 4:18). The Philippians may have thought that the money would help Paul to be more comfortable and that Epaphroditus then could bring back some news to alleviate their fears.
Paul's Message to the Philippians
When Epaphroditus returned to the Philippians, he brought Paul's Letter with him. In the Letter Paul expressed gratitude that in the past the Philippians had placed such a high priority on the advancement of the Gospel--their many gifts of support for him over the years were proof enough of that--but he also expressed concern that the Philippians not let the Gospel's advancement slip from its prominent place among their priorities. Paul urged them to continue to find joy in the Gospel's advancement. First he models for them what this means in his own life, and then he gives them specific advice about their own situation.
Paul tells the Philippians that God has advanced the Gospel through Paul's difficult circumstances. It is true, Paul wrote, that his commitment to preach Christ put him in chains and that his imprisonment had been made that much more difficult through the selfish ambition and partisanship of other Christians. But none of that mattered. Paul's joy was linked to the advancement of the Gospel, and God had not merely advanced the Gospel in spite of those circumstances but through them.
Paul's imprisonment meant that those at work in the governor's headquarters had heard the Gospel, and outside the headquarters even Paul's rivals preached Christ more boldly as a result of his chains. "In this," Paul wrote, "I rejoice" (Philippians 1:18).
In the same way, Paul's confidence that no matter what happens, God will see to the Gospel's advancement means that Paul has trouble deciding whether he wants the verdict of his trial to go for or against him: "What shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two" (Philippians 1:22-23).
If Paul were executed, he would immediately be united with the Lord Jesus, and if he were spared, he would return to the Lord Jesus' work among the Philippians: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Both were splendid options, and because Paul was alert to how God would work in his own difficult circumstances, his joy in the Lord was as vigorous as ever.
Rejoicing Amid Suffering
What about the Philippians? Persecution and the selfish ambition of fellow believers hung over their heads too, and in addition Paul informed them that false teachers might be headed their way (Philippians 1:28, 2:3, 14; 3:2; 4:2). How could they continue to rejoice in the midst of such hardship?
Paul answered this question for the Philippians in the same way that he answered it for himself. When hardship strikes, he wrote, the Philippian Christians should be sure that the advancement of the Gospel is their top priority. When selfish ambition threatens to distract them from the Gospel's progress, they should remember the unselfish example of Jesus, who did not exploit His divine power but used it unselfishly (Philippians 2:5-11).
When subtle perversions of the Gospel threaten the Church, the Philippians should remember the essence of the Gospel--that God acquits us of guilt and puts us in a right relationship with Himself on the basis of Christ's atoning death alone, not because of our social standing or our personal accomplishments (Philippians 3:2-9).
When worry about either Paul's suffering or their own difficulties threatened to rob the Philippians of joy in the Gospel's progress, they should turn their hearts to God in prayer and their minds to the good things in the world around them (Philippians 4:4-9). They should remember that God never fails to accomplish His work, and when one's life is devoted to God's work, then whatever the outward circumstances, it is possible to be contented (Philippians 4:10-14)
How Do We Approach Suffering?
What about us? When life goes awry, does our walk with God come to a screeching halt while we wring our hands in worry and exhaust ourselves trying to figure out how to stick to our predetermined schedule? If so, this may be a sign that the progress of the Gospel needs to have a central place in our lives. Have we allowed our own selfish ambitions to usurp the place of the Gospel's advancement in our lives and in our churches?
Have we lost our focus on the Gospel? If our joy is linked to the advancement of the Gospel, then when hardship comes, we will pray instead of worry. And instead of that desperate feeling that the world is falling apart, we will be alert to what God might be accomplishing in spite of--or even through--our suffering.
From our human perspective the world is an uncertain place. The telephone call at 2:00 a.m., the police cruiser in front of our house, the positive lab report, the rejection letter--each can throw us into turmoil. Christians are not exempt from suffering. If God Himself, in His Son Jesus Christ, "became obedient to death--even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8), then we should not expect to escape suffering either.
The Scriptures teach us that it is appropriate to grieve in the midst of tragedy (Romans 8:22-23; Philippians 2:27),then we should not expect to escape suffering either. But our lives need to be centered on the Gospel's advancement so that in the midst of hardship we remain alert to the ways that God can use us, despite our suffering, to advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
| Frank Thielman is Professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School where he has taught New Testament and Greek since 1989 and holds the Presbyterian Chair of Divinity. He has degrees from Wheaton College, Cambridge University, and Duke University and is the author of a number of books and articles on the New Testament. This article was first published on the Christian web on 4/27/2003. |