I recently began a personal, inductive study through the book of Philippians.
Chosen because it is one of the Apostle Paul’s happiest letters (and, one of my favorites), Paul is writing to the church at Philippi from a less-than-desirable spot.
Paul’s in Rome (by the way…I leave for Rome next Wednesday, and, on Thursday morning I’ll have just planted my feet on Italian soil. I’m excited to have an opportunity to encourage global women serving in Europe; and, I always appreciate prayers that I might be God’s chosen vessel ? for such a time as this).
Anyway…Paul’s in prison!
Not the depths-of-despair-Mamertime-horror-prison, but he’s on house arrest and chained to a palace guard 24-7.
Paul’s circumstances are less than desirable.
He’s totally dependent on others for all his provisions and personal needs (in fact, because many turned their backs on prisoners of the state, most in Paul’s shoes starved to death and Rome didn’t care).
That’s partly why Paul’s writing to the young church (14-years-old, at best). He’s thanking them for a financial gift they sent to him through their beloved Epaphroditus.
Paul’s encouraged by the Philippians’ ongoing friendship, while at the same time concerned for their “progress and joy in faith..” (1:25)
He longs to be with his friends to encourage them through the suffering they are enduring from outside the church, and the unrest and divisiveness they are experiencing from inside the church.
So, he writes.
He writes about the joy that is possible in the midst of heartache and hardship; and, he can do that because he’s “learned the secret of contentment” (4:11-13)
Oh! My! Goodness!
How we all need a Paul; someone who has been there, done that, and they “get it.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly looking for someone whose road map I can borrow…
There have been so many times I’ve needed a Paul to come alongside me, someone to nudge me and remind me, “even in this you can rejoice, and rejoice again (4:4)!”
AND…now and then, the Lord allows me to be a Paul, to use the things I’ve walked through, to remind others of the same; but, we can’t be a Paul until we’ve learned his secret, and that’s why I’m diving into Philippians.
I’m going to invite you to join me on a bit of my exploration of an old letter to a now by-gone church in Northern Greece, simply because we need more folks to be the hands, feet, heart, and mouth of Jesus and mimic Him, just as Paul did (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Today’s church is struggling much like the Philippian church – from outside and from within. It is undeniably so; and, there’s potential for even more difficulty to come. The voices against the evangelical church are loud and getting louder. It wouldn’t take much for persecution to be reality.
The church needs counter-voices that flow out of Kingdom-centered-hearts to help pass on Paul’s secret of joy in the midst of affliction and trials.
(By the way, it’s really no secret, since Paul unravels the mystery of contentment for us throughout Philippians. Wait for it…come back and learn it with me…)
Our voices don’t have to be loud…they just need to be kind, gentle, and filled with compassion. They also need to be willing and unashamed!
Gotta tell ya, as I began Philippians, the Lord spoke to me, firm but sweet:
_____________________
“Never fail to share the stories of the hope that is within you. Be a Paul.”
______________________
I don’t think those words are just for me, but for you, as well.
The Lord’s gentle whisper came with a few things to I need to keep in mind and prayerfully consider before I speak. So, I “examine myself” – always and first:
1. Have I earned the right to speak into a life? Is there credibility? Paul’s ongoing, reciprocal relationship with the church at Philippi gave him the nod. Together they built a “partnership in the gospel” (1:5).
2. Have I checked my motives? Birthed out of “holding them in his heart with great affection (1:7),” Paul exhorted them out of a great longing for their deeper, more intimate faith (1:25). What is my reason for speaking up?
3. Have I learned some of those secrets of joy, myself, and applied them to my own story? Sometimes I think Jesus-followers are afraid to speak up…maybe they think they have no story to tell; maybe they think they need seminary training; maybe there’s an underlying fear they won’t be taken seriously…
I don’t know the reasons, but if the Lord has walked with us at all in this life, we’ve got stories to tell of how He has brought us through: like how we’ve been in His Word and felt the great peace it’s brought to our hearts; or, how we’ve sensed His dear presence, and encouragement, to put one foot in front of the other; and/or, how we’ve experienced Him bringing folks to cross our paths right when we’ve needed a hug or a Word of Truth.
We don’t need to possess great teaching skills, we simply speak our story.
4. Have I prayed? To this question, I wanted to answer, “Duh!”
Yet, I had to stop and ask myself, “No, REALLY, have I prayed?”
I will never earn the right to speak, have the correct motives, or be able to bring a word-of-life into someone’s heart if I have not stopped to give thanks, to pray blessings over, and specifically make requests of the Lord on behalf of my friends (period and exclamation marks).!!!!!!
I am convicted, and take note of some tweaking that must occur within my soul; yet, I am challenged:
_______________________
Let Suffering Speak!
_______________________
