Joyful Living Devotional - Day 15
Day 15 – The Privilege of Trust and Suffering
Philippians 1:29-30 (NLT) 29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
To say the Philippians lived in a hostile environment is a gross understatement. They faced severe persecution. As a Roman colony, Philippi saw the arrival of retired veteran soldiers who were assigned land taken from local inhabitants. These local inhabitants also lost their citizenship in the newly formed colony. The Philippian church was seen as a threat because they rejected the worship of Caesar, which was considered a civic duty for Roman citizens. They called Jesus Lord, not Caesar, and by withdrawing from pagan religious festivals, were seen as unpatriotic and subversive to Rome. Besides the spiritual implication of darkness and light being on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, there were two value systems that would never be able to sit by the same fire: the veneration of Caesar vs. the Lordship of Christ.
“Persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value-systems.” – John Stott
Paul, himself a persecutor of the church before his conversion, understood this better than anyone else and therefore reminded the Philippians that both trusting in Christ and suffering for Him must be seen as a privilege. Paul and Silas were supernaturally led by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel to them. We know that Paul’s plan was to go further into Asia, travel north, and preach the gospel there, but the Holy Spirit did not allow it. They then tried to go into Bithynia, and again the Lord said no. “8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:8-10 NIV). All of this because the Lord wanted the Macedonians to receive the Good News of Jesus.
The challenges and persecutions Paul and his traveling companions faced were among the most difficult during his missionary journeys through Macedonia. We see this in several of his letters, including one to the church in Corinth, where he describes the persecution and suffering they endured in Macedonia. “For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within” (2 Corinthians 7:5 NIV).
He directly refers to the harsh treatment in Philippi when he writes to the Thessalonians. “1 You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2 NLT).
A church was birthed by the Holy Spirit’s supernatural direction, as revealed in the vision Paul received. Then came the salvation of Lydia, a businesswoman, the deliverance of the slave girl from a spirit of divination, and the salvation of a jailer through God’s miraculous intervention. All of these great and even supernatural things happened, yet profound difficulty came as well. Paul reminds them that believing in Jesus is a privilege, and so is suffering for Him.
Whenever we read about the suffering of the early church, it is very easy to disconnect and even disassociate from their suffering. The modern-day church, especially in the West, has relegated suffering to a personal category such as sickness, poverty, or trying circumstances. Yet, if we are honest, even people who do not know Christ go through sickness, poverty, and tough situations. It is true we might suffer like that, but that suffering is simply because we live in a broken world that was fractured when sin and death entered through Adam’s disobedience. Suffering for Christ is because of Christ. The Philippians are not facing trying circumstances because of a fallen world. They are facing trying circumstances because of a victorious Christ!
This is highly likely the reason why Paul and Silas chose to go to jail and be beaten for the proclamation of the Good News instead of escaping by claiming their Roman citizenship. Paul knew that the Philippians would be fellow strugglers in difficulty, distress, and persecution once they left.
“The early Church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.” – Leonard Ravenhill
There are many fellow believers all over the world in our present day that are jailed, beaten, ostracized, scorned, persecuted, and killed for the Good News of Jesus. We cannot simply close our eyes and ears and thank God it is not happening to us. Neither should we be afraid if the pressure is mounting in our current culture and climate. We must remain steadfast in preaching Jesus wherever we go and with whoever we are. We cannot become cowardly in our approach or shrink like a bunch of turtles in our shells for safety. Just like the church in Philippi, there is joy in trusting in Christ and joy in suffering for Him!
We might not face the same level of physical harm and threat that the early church did, but that does not mean we should not take up our cross and follow Him. We cannot worry about what others may think of us or how they may perceive us. We cannot reach a culture in which we place comfort over sacrifice and fitting in over standing out. Our comfort does not come from the culture we are in. It comes when we share in Jesus' suffering and are willing to take up our cross and follow Him.
2 Corinthians 1:5 (NIV) “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
“Carrying the cross does mean following in Jesus' footsteps. In His footsteps are rejection, brokenheartedness, persecution, and death. There are not two Christs - an easygoing one for easygoing Christians and a suffering one for exceptional believers. There is only one Christ. Are we willing to follow His lead?” – Hudson Taylor
Prayer:
Philippians 1:29-30 (NLT) 29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
To say the Philippians lived in a hostile environment is a gross understatement. They faced severe persecution. As a Roman colony, Philippi saw the arrival of retired veteran soldiers who were assigned land taken from local inhabitants. These local inhabitants also lost their citizenship in the newly formed colony. The Philippian church was seen as a threat because they rejected the worship of Caesar, which was considered a civic duty for Roman citizens. They called Jesus Lord, not Caesar, and by withdrawing from pagan religious festivals, were seen as unpatriotic and subversive to Rome. Besides the spiritual implication of darkness and light being on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, there were two value systems that would never be able to sit by the same fire: the veneration of Caesar vs. the Lordship of Christ.
“Persecution is simply the clash between two irreconcilable value-systems.” – John Stott
Paul, himself a persecutor of the church before his conversion, understood this better than anyone else and therefore reminded the Philippians that both trusting in Christ and suffering for Him must be seen as a privilege. Paul and Silas were supernaturally led by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel to them. We know that Paul’s plan was to go further into Asia, travel north, and preach the gospel there, but the Holy Spirit did not allow it. They then tried to go into Bithynia, and again the Lord said no. “8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:8-10 NIV). All of this because the Lord wanted the Macedonians to receive the Good News of Jesus.
The challenges and persecutions Paul and his traveling companions faced were among the most difficult during his missionary journeys through Macedonia. We see this in several of his letters, including one to the church in Corinth, where he describes the persecution and suffering they endured in Macedonia. “For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within” (2 Corinthians 7:5 NIV).
He directly refers to the harsh treatment in Philippi when he writes to the Thessalonians. “1 You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure. 2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:1-2 NLT).
A church was birthed by the Holy Spirit’s supernatural direction, as revealed in the vision Paul received. Then came the salvation of Lydia, a businesswoman, the deliverance of the slave girl from a spirit of divination, and the salvation of a jailer through God’s miraculous intervention. All of these great and even supernatural things happened, yet profound difficulty came as well. Paul reminds them that believing in Jesus is a privilege, and so is suffering for Him.
Whenever we read about the suffering of the early church, it is very easy to disconnect and even disassociate from their suffering. The modern-day church, especially in the West, has relegated suffering to a personal category such as sickness, poverty, or trying circumstances. Yet, if we are honest, even people who do not know Christ go through sickness, poverty, and tough situations. It is true we might suffer like that, but that suffering is simply because we live in a broken world that was fractured when sin and death entered through Adam’s disobedience. Suffering for Christ is because of Christ. The Philippians are not facing trying circumstances because of a fallen world. They are facing trying circumstances because of a victorious Christ!
This is highly likely the reason why Paul and Silas chose to go to jail and be beaten for the proclamation of the Good News instead of escaping by claiming their Roman citizenship. Paul knew that the Philippians would be fellow strugglers in difficulty, distress, and persecution once they left.
“The early Church was married to poverty, prisons and persecutions. Today, the church is married to prosperity, personality, and popularity.” – Leonard Ravenhill
There are many fellow believers all over the world in our present day that are jailed, beaten, ostracized, scorned, persecuted, and killed for the Good News of Jesus. We cannot simply close our eyes and ears and thank God it is not happening to us. Neither should we be afraid if the pressure is mounting in our current culture and climate. We must remain steadfast in preaching Jesus wherever we go and with whoever we are. We cannot become cowardly in our approach or shrink like a bunch of turtles in our shells for safety. Just like the church in Philippi, there is joy in trusting in Christ and joy in suffering for Him!
We might not face the same level of physical harm and threat that the early church did, but that does not mean we should not take up our cross and follow Him. We cannot worry about what others may think of us or how they may perceive us. We cannot reach a culture in which we place comfort over sacrifice and fitting in over standing out. Our comfort does not come from the culture we are in. It comes when we share in Jesus' suffering and are willing to take up our cross and follow Him.
2 Corinthians 1:5 (NIV) “For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
“Carrying the cross does mean following in Jesus' footsteps. In His footsteps are rejection, brokenheartedness, persecution, and death. There are not two Christs - an easygoing one for easygoing Christians and a suffering one for exceptional believers. There is only one Christ. Are we willing to follow His lead?” – Hudson Taylor
Prayer:
- Ask the Lord to give you the courage to pay whatever price necessary to fulfill His purpose.
- Ask the Lord to change the way you see suffering for Him, from “Why me?” to “it’s a privilege”.
- Pray for your fellow believers who are struggling, especially those who are suffering for their faith around the world.
- Pray the second part of Psalm 27 today:
Posted in Joyful Living Devotional