“Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” -1Thessalonians 5:18
Recently, I have been teaching a series of lessons on the Apostle Paul. His life is an amazing testament to the power of God to mold us and shape us for the purposes that God calls us. When we first meet Paul in the New Testament he is making a name for himself by hunting down and persecuting Christians. Then as Paul is confronted on the road to Damascus, by Jesus himself, he turns his life around and becomes the greatest advocate for the Gospel in all the church.
Being so outspoken is not easy. His strong opinions embodied in his preaching get him into trouble constantly. As he takes the Gospel to cities and towns in Asia Minor and Greece he finds himself the focus of threats on his life. He is stoned, beaten with rods and imprisoned. Yet he keeps on going never giving in to intimidation and never complaining about his hardships.
It is Paul’s 2nd missionary journey that he finally crosses over into Europe for the first time and will establish the first church on the continent at Philippi in northern Greece. Paul, a Hebrew, would normally go to the synagogue whenever he arrived in a new place to find hospitality. However, in Philippi there is no synagogue. The Hebrews required there be at least ten adult male Jews to have what was called a Minyan, or a quorum, which was needed to start a synagogue. So Paul goes down to the river where he finds a group of women praying and he preaches to them. These women would be the foundation of that new church which Paul came to love.
Ten years after starting that church Paul is under house arrest in Rome and he writes what is called his epistle of joy, Philippians. The letter he writes to this church expresses his love and gratitude for this congregation. “I give thanks every time I remember you” (Phil. 1:3). Despite all the hardships Paul has encountered he never wavers from giving thanks. “I want you to know brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the Gospel” (Phil. 1:12). How many of us would give thanks for the difficulties and setbacks in our life? Yet this is exactly what Paul does. “Rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4).
How easy it is to be sad, to be angry, or to blame someone else when things do not go our way? Now Paul could definitely be angry when people criticized his authority in starting new churches but he never complains about the beatings he takes for preaching the Gospel. What an amazing model Paul is for us as we continue our journey in faith.
Rev. Dave Poteet, Pastoral of Congregational Care
