Paul never ceases to amaze me. He was in prison, chained to a prison guard, waiting to find out if he will be executed by Caesar. Yet he still managed to write a letter to the Philippians church, filled with thankfulness and praise! Paul had great affection for the Philippians.” I thank God upon every remembrance of you”, he wrote (Philippians 1:3). He also expressed a sincere confidence that God was doing a special work in this body of believers. 

But soon, his focus shifted to the fact that he is writing from prison. The road to prison was filled with hardship, danger, and rejection. Yet, the attitude of this man is steadfast, immovable. All that happened to him – persecution, flogging, prison, fearing for his life, distress—“turned out for the furtherance of the gospel”. Paul never wasted time lamenting his situation, position, or condition. “My chains are in Christ,” He wrote (Philippians 1:13).

Paul had learned the most valuable lesson possible in the realm of spiritual labor: the Lord is faithful. We can count on the faithfulness of God twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I am amazed at how quickly I pray for deliverance, or lament my problems, questioning the faithfulness of the God who called me. Then God reminds me through His Word, or another believer, or a circumstance, of His unfailing love.

In the area of evangelical work today, we see a lot of writing, multiple forms of double-speak, speakers looking for ways to make everything sound positive for fear of discouraging their followers. But that is not honest! Life is hard at times. There are trials and tribulations. The focus is not on how to avoid these things, but how we can see God’s Faithfulness.

Paul was not that type of spiritual leader. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” he asked. “Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecutions, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present no things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).

Paul was a man fully persuaded that the faithfulness of God can transform any experience into the furtherance of the Gospel. He was so in love with the Lord that nothing could shake his confidence in God’s faithfulness.

While the faithfulness of God is stated very clearly in Scripture, we need to experience it firsthand to be as persuaded as Paul. A servant of God heads into the storms of life and the maelstrom of ministry led by the Holy Spirit, but the enemy will try to throw us off course with fear and uncertainty. In the midst of the trials and difficulties, the faithfulness of God acts like a gyro compass to provide a strong and steady course.

You might be going through a difficulty now that makes you feel like you are going to perish! Remember how afraid the disciples were when they crossed the Sea of Galilee, with huge waves and strong, tempestuous winds tossing the boat like a toy? They turned to Jesus, peacefully sleeping in the stern of the boat, on a pillow.

“Teacher,” they cried, “do You care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:35-41).

Like wise, we ask the Lord, Do You care? Are You concerned about our ministry and the people we love? And we get the same answer He gave the disciples. Jesus simply awoke, rebuked the wind, turned to the sea and said, “Peace, be still!” – and “there was a great calm”.

Then He turned to His disciples and asked, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?

I don’t believe Jesus was accusing or scolding. He reminded His disciples that He can be trusted. Jesus personifies the faithfulness of God, at total peace in the midst of the storm. He will navigate us through the storms, and steady us with His love and faithfulness. He will finish the work He has destined for you to complete, and you can be assured that whatever happens to you—rejections, disappointments, or even chains—can be for the furtherance of the Gospel.

O Lord, may the Spirit of God work within us to bring us to that place of fully comprehending the faithfulness of God.

                           
by Richard Raher.