I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy… Whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice… Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all… Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me… Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord… Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Philippians 1:3-4, 1:18, 2:17-18, 3:1, 4:4
This reflection continues from last weekend, thinking about how St Paul could rejoice as a political prisoner and how we can learn to rejoice in difficult and unjust situations. Some years before Paul was deported to Rome, he had written to the Christians there explaining that, ‘For those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose’ (Romans 8:28). Critical to this assurance is understanding and accepting that it is God, not us, who makes all things work together for good.
God is eternal and unassailable, with perfect knowledge of all persons and things and able to see even what is most secret. His knowledge is infinite, His wisdom is unsearchable and His plans cannot be comprehended. Nothing is impossible for Him and everything I could possibly say about His ability to redeem situations would fall far short of what He can do very easily!
Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica, ‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you’. That is astounding! Is it really God's will for us to rejoice in all circumstances? The answer is in the context, the rest of what Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. He describes a military camp at night where the army sleeps, many of them drunk. ‘For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.’
Understanding the times we live in and seeing what goes on around us, and knowing that we are 'destined' for salvation, we stay alert and protect ourselves with God's own armour: faith, love and hope. Paul later adds further reassurance. ‘The God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.’ If we let Him, God will sanctify us and protect us until Christ comes for us: He is faithful; He is able; He will do it - if we let Him make all things work together for our good!
St Peter put it this way at the start of his first letter. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you… In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ…’ We rejoice in the indestructible inheritance waiting for us, knowing that what we experience now refines our faith.
St James wrote, ‘Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness’. There may be no joy to be found in the situation itself but only evil and pain but James says, ‘count it all joy’. Consider it as joy, reckon it to be joy, believing in the potential of God’s redemption, and rejoice because it produces steadfastness. And more! ‘And let steadfastness have its full effect’ James continues, ‘that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing’ (James 1:2-4).
There’s no contradiction in rejoicing in a situation and simultaneously praying for it to end but we have to wait God’s timing and cooperate with His activity. We should not risk the opportunity to benefit from the situation by continually imaging what it will be like when it's over but, like Paul, think more about how to please God within it. That may be a challenge but the point of learning contentment is to acquire skills we don't have to prepare us for the future.
There’s no contradiction in rejoicing in a situation and simultaneously praying for it to end but we have to wait God’s timing and cooperate with His activity. We should not risk the opportunity to benefit from the situation by continually imaging what it will be like when it's over but, like Paul, think more about how to please God within it. That may be a challenge but the point of learning contentment is to acquire skills we don't have to prepare us for the future.
© Copyright Philip Evans 2014.
As what is freely received should be freely shared and not sold for profit, you are very welcome to copy these Reflections freely and without cost to others. Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
