Where’s your trust?
Paul carries on in his letter to the Philippians and as we read through Philippians 1v19→26 we get an awesome sense of how Paul just totally trusted Jesus, He knew that everything would turn out exactly as it should. We can learn some awesome lessons about who God is, and how we should live in light of that, as we go through this section of Paul’s letter to his friends in Philippi.
Paul is sitting in prison as he is writing this letter, and yet he is rejoicing. The reason that Paul could rejoice was because he didn’t let his life be directed by the circumstance he found himself in, he let God direct his life. That is why as Paul was sitting in horrendous conditions he could rejoice! Paul’s greatest concern was not for himself, it was not for material things, it was not for anything except that Jesus would be honoured. Paul’s greatest desire in life was that God would use him, all of his life, to bring honour to Christ, Paul’s drive was to make Jesus famous.
Because of Paul’s motivation in his life, he could honestly say those famous words – For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Paul’s earthly life was sold out to Jesus, and when he died, Paul knew that he would be with Jesus; so whether Paul lived or died, there was no loss for him! Imagine living your life like this, knowing that everything in your life is working towards the one thing that you are most passionate about, and that when you die, that passion will be ultimately fulfilled! Welcome to Christianity, this is what it is to be a Christian…
However, there should be a question bugging you; how can every single moment and aspect of your life bring glory to Jesus? The answer to that question is not found within you, rather it is found in God. God is sovereign, everything that God sets out to do, He will do. No person or thing can get in the way of what God sets His will to do. Acts 4v24→30 speaks about God’s sovereign plan in sending Jesus, even though the rulers of the day thought they were thwarting Jesus’ plan, they were in fact fulfilling it! Because God is sovereign, you can trust that, if you desire to live for Jesus, that God can use every moment of your life to make Jesus famous, even when you are mowing the lawn, or whatever you’re doing.
Therefore, we see that Paul trusted in the sovereignty of our awesome God, and that he knew that whatever his circumstance was that as long as he tried to live as God would have him to live that his life would be of eternal value. Christian, this is what God is calling you to today, that you would really trust Him, and fully surrender control of your life to God, that God will take every moment of every day of your life, and make it count towards the ultimate purpose, God’s glory! There is no other way you will find joy.
