Philippians 1 112623

Have you ever gone through a trial and thought: "Why in the world am I having to go through this"?

Maybe you are feeling pretty confident in your Christian walk. Your prayer life is strong. You're attending church on a regular basis. You're giving joyfully of your time and talents to the Lord. You're studying your bible. You're not struggling with any particular sins. Yet, you're still going through a traumatic trial.

Maybe you're starting to feel a little let down by the Lord. I mean, you're doing what He is asking you so why in the world are you still having to go through such a painful period?

Sometimes, we go through painful periods in our lives and we can look back and realize that those painful periods were some of the most faith strengthening moments in our life. We can look back and see how those trials, while not pleasant, yielded amazing fruit for the Lord.

Today, we are going to see Paul writing about how his own trials led to some amazing fruit. How his imprisonment had given him opportunities to share the Gospel in places and with people he would have never normally had the opportunity to share with.

The Lord can use the most traumatic moments and most difficult trials in our lives to not only shape who we are in Him, but also to accomplish His good and perfect will no matter the circumstances.