Where Back Is Forward

Read: Philippians 1:12-19

Everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. Philippians 1:12

IN WORD

Paul is under house arrest, having already spent more than two years in prison and taken a long, shipwreck-marred journey to Rome. While there, he learns that some people are preaching Christ competitively and contentiously. On top of that, he doesn’t even know if he’s going to live or die, and in many ways, death would be better. And all of this, Paul says, is good.

That’s because Paul knows that there are no setbacks in the lives of Kingdom citizens with faith. Everything that appears to be a setback is really an advance—some opportunity to further the Kingdom, some event or relationship that enhances its message, something that works for the good of God’s people rather than against them. We don’t know how that works, just that it does. We see it early in the pages of Scripture as Joseph suffers setback after setback, each one putting him closer to the fulfillment of his destiny. We see it in the Cross of Christ, where the worst setback proved to be the greatest victory that has forever changed the world. Paul understands this Kingdom dynamic and embraces it. We can too.

It isn’t easy. When we suffer a setback, our first instinct is usually to lament it, analyze it, wonder what we did wrong, and try our hardest to get out of it. A better instinct is to ask God what He is doing in it and open our eyes to the opportunities it creates. Does it give us a platform to show His mercy? His power? His compassion or patience or love? Whatever situation we find ourselves in, there is some way to reflect God’s face, and there may be overt opportunities to demonstrate His Kingdom. Our crises are usually His stage.

IN DEED

Train yourself to think differently about your hardships. See them as opportunities for God to manifest His character and His Kingdom. Pray toward that end and step through the open doors. Everything that happens to you is under His hand—and somehow useful in yours.

ADDITIONAL READING: Romans 8:28

You will never need more than God can supply.

J. I. PACKER