Day 7 – When life gives you lemons …..

Please read Philippians 1:12-14

Jen and Jeff, a young married couple, realize their marriage is crumbling and are sleeping in separate bedrooms. One day they decide to meet at a restaurant to discuss divorce arrangements. Jeff comes directly from his work on his motorbike and Jen comes by bus because parking near the restaurant is difficult to find. At the restaurant, they agree to amicably divorce.  Jen decides to move out to her parents’ house and decides to go to their house that night itself. So Jeff offers her a ride on his motorbike and she agrees.

On the way to Jen’s parents’ home, a car runs into the motorbike and both Jen and Jeff end up in an emergency room and later are admitted to the hospital. When Jen’s family inform the hospital staff of the impending divorce, some of the nurses and other staff- who are Christian- decide to put Jeff and Jen in the same room to help mend their bodies and marriage. On their hospital beds, Jeff and Jen realize how much they love and care for each other and they decide not to divorce. A really bad situation, the accident, brought Jen and Jeff together.

Coming to Philippians, Paul writes this letter in prison. As I noted in an earlier post, Roman-world prisons are not like modern day prisons –  no libraries, gyms, entertainment areas or cafeterias. Paul is probably in a dingy room chained to a wall or post on one side and to a Roman soldier (Acts 28:16) on the other side. Some commentators opine that Paul is not in a prison cell but in a holding cell for those awaiting execution. So it is not a comfortable area and the company is not great and probably not gregarious. Yet this abysmal situation serves Paul “¹² … to advance the gospel.” 

So Paul is shackled to imperial (palace) guards and he proselytizes to them. And the world of the Lord spreads “…throughout the whole imperial guard.”  For Paul, his life is never about himself- it’s about Jesus (Galatians 2:20) and joyfully he proclaims Jesus. And his success, in turn, emboldens “the brothers … to speak the word without fear.”

Dear brother and sister in Christ; God the Holy Spirit will use your and my inadequate words (Isaiah 55:11) to convict and convert the lost. So let us ask God to equip us to share the good news with others and bring joy (Luke 15:10).

Dear God the Holy Spirit, mold me as your servant and embolden me to share the good news of Jesus in faith and joy. Amen.