“When things go wrong, don’t go with them,” so observed Elvis. Or someone else – quite a few would lay claim to this quote.
But things going wrong is a daily fact of life for us all. A minor distraction or a major upset, either way we can so easily be knocked off balance.
For we live in world where Murphy’s law would reign supreme, that anything that could go wrong will go wrong, and probably at the worst possible time.
The key question, of course, is how we respond when our plans go awry or we encounter the unexpected in such a way that we are in danger of losing our footing.
Furthermore, as things go wrong our pretensions are exposed, the “real me” comes into view, not least to ourselves. And strangely it is often the small setbacks which would cause us so much angst.
This morning, as part of my BRF Guideline notes, I’ve just been reading the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. This has to be my favourite New Testament epistle, altogether positive and affirming. No one there is questioning his authority and so he is more relaxed, more open, more himself.
And it is so uplifting. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Or as the Message translation tells us: “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!”
All very positive, and yet. For this is no superficial optimism, no fixed smile so-to-speak. For reading these words you would never know that once again Paul is in some Roman prison somewhere – he doesn’t say where. It could be Ephesus or Caesarea Maritima or even Rome itself.
Once again, this itinerant apostle has been arrested for affronting both religious and civic leaders with his Gospel message that it is Jesus and not Caesar who is Lord of all. Not something you would want Caesar with all his political apparatus to hear.
And when you take on the emperor, your future, to say the least, is uncertain. Paul lets us know, almost incidentally, that execution is a real possibility. No big deal for he is serving the true King: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (1:21)
For it is not just that Paul’s plans have been thrown into disarray, what is worse is that there are those who would take advantage of his imprisonment.
It’s all very strange as he tells us. “The others, now that I’m out of the picture, are merely greedy, hoping to get something out of it for themselves. Their motives are bad. They see me as their competition, and so the worse it goes for me, the better—they think—for them.” (1:17).
I think most of us, should we find ourselves in Paul’s situation, would be plunged into gloom and self-pity. It’s not just things have gone wrong but they have gone wrong in a big way.
What his imprisonment shows us is his basic, fundamental aim; that is, to proclaim the good news of Jesus. And it’s worth reflecting on what is our basic, fundamental aim. What are our life’s goals?
Whatever they are will be shown most clearly when things go wrong, when our pretensions are shown for what they are.
So how does this bruised and battered apostle respond to his situation? “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel”. (1:12).
And so Paul elaborates. Firstly: “As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.” (1:13). He is keenly aware that anyone coming into contact with him is coming into contact with the living Christ. And some of these are key people.
And secondly, somewhat counter-intuitively, “most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” (1:14).
So where does all this come from, this ability to handle life’s disappointments with such confidence? Well, it is something he has learned, as he makes clear. “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (4:12)
And the secret? “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (4:13). That is, a determined trust in God’s faithfulness which we find in Jesus, for the same Christ who strengthens Paul is the same Christ who would strengthen us too.
As simple as that. It has to be, for we are all in the spiritual slow-learners group.
As the evangelist David Wilkerson has experienced: “Our faith is not meant to get us out of a hard place or change our painful condition. Rather, it is meant to reveal God's faithfulness to us in the midst of our dire situation.”
So the apostle prays for his readers (including us): “Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.” (2:15)
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