The Furtherance of the Gospel

"the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel" ~Philippians 1:12 It's a natural reaction for us to complain when things don't go our way. Maybe we sulk and say to ourselves, "Why me?" or we ensure others know about our suffering. If anyone had reason to complain, it was the Apostle Paul. He experienced numerous beatings, starvation, shipwreck, and nearly constant danger, yet he still told people all of this happened to him to advance the Gospel (2 Cor. 11:25-27). Strange thought isn't it? Bad things can yield a good result. The only way these horrific situations caused the Gospel to advance is because Paul surrendered his will to God. Instead of saying, "I don't deserve this!" he said, "these give me even more reasons to talk about what God has brought me through. Look how great God is!" At the time Paul wrote this letter, he was under arrest. He wrote due to his arrest, "it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ" (13). If it took him getting arrested for people to find out about Jesus, then so be it. The next time we worry we're not getting what we deserve out of life let us not forget that despite our circumstances there is always an opportunity to share the grace of God. Always improve the present moment.