Philippians 1:12-13

And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ.

My chief memory of prison visits is the huge bunches of keys and the slamming of doors. The lack of liberty must be terrible, and we have every reason to think that Paul’s years of incarceration would have been a degrading experience. But Paul has no time for moaning! He reflects that his time in prison actually enabled the good news of Jesus to be spread. Even the palace guard recognised that he was in prison because of his faith in Christ.

Paul’s various times in prison must have been desperately hard to bear, but he consistently focused on the fact that God had brought blessing through these times. This reminds me of Joseph’s experience in the Old Testament. His brothers hated him so much that they intended to murder him, but they eventually decided to sell him to some passing traders. They then went back to their father with Joseph’s coat of many colours drenched in goat’s blood, claiming that he had been tragically killed. Joseph was taken to Egypt, where his ability to interpret dreams finally led him to become one of the leaders of the land during a time of famine. In one of the most dramatic moments of the Bible, Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt in search of food and the official that they met was none other than Joseph himself. He summed up what had happened by saying this: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so that I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20). Joseph wasn’t saying that what they had done was acceptable. They had clearly acted in a terrible way. But their actions hadn’t stood in the way of God’s purposes.

We all face many difficult times in life. We confront tragedies, illnesses and setbacks. But as we trust ourselves to God He is able to keep working miraculously in us and around us.

Question

Can you think of a bad experience in your life which God was able to turn into something good?

Prayer

Dear Father, thank You that You are at work in my life even when times are hard. Amen