The Club I Never Wanted to Be Part of...

“Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else…” (Phil. 1:12-13a)

Prison. The apostle Paul was incarcerated. Did you know that? Yep! Not once, not twice but multiple times. You could say he had a rap sheet. How embarrassing. How humiliating. Yet it doesn’t seem that Paul really cares about his reputation or what other people think. His mindset is totally different. He is gospel-centered.

When I start to think about his circumstances, (some other translations say, “what has happened to me”) I have to fight the urge to see prison as something different from what it is today. Being labeled a criminal had no more prestige then than it does now. As a matter of fact, prison was disgusting and infested. Prison was dark and dank. No electricity. No indoor plumbing, no bunks or 3 meals a day. No one would want to be a prisoner and certainly no one would seemingly be excited about their imprisonment.

Except for the Apostle Paul. He was a strange and polemic, other-worldly kind of fellow. He didn’t put much stock in this life or his circumstances. He even writes about it later on in the book of Philippians (4:11) saying, “whatever circumstances I am in, I have learned to be content.” You might admire him, you might think him odd, but one thing is for sure...we would all like to know his secret.

I don’t think it is far-fetched to say that Paul didn’t want to be in prison. He really would have been strange if he had enjoyed being locked up. But, he knew that God was providentially using his circumstances to further the gospel, so he rejoiced...and he wasn’t ashamed. He goes on later in chapter one to say this very thing. Although his circumstances might be less than favorable to the world, he knows that Christ will be exalted.

You know, there are clubs in life that we all become part of through our circumstances that we would never have chosen to join. Paul, through this set of circumstances was now part of the “I’ve been in prison before” club. Although he was wrongfully accused, convicted or not, being arrested and imprisoned carries its own stigma. Yet, he is quick to say that now, everyone knows about it. He is his own PR agent. He isn’t waiting for word to get out about him. He’s beating them to the punch. How humbling...

We are going through something in our family right now that is securing our membership in a club we never wanted to be part of. I’m sure there are many of you that can relate. You are now part of something that was never part of your original plan. This isn’t a club with bragging rights and the membership isn’t exclusive. We often find ourselves inducted as members in 2 ways: we are nominated or we sign up. Let me explain.

There are circumstances in our lives that are out of our control; things that happen to us, just like Paul. For example: the death of a loved one (a child, a spouse, a parent), an uncontested divorce, suicide of a family member or close friend, our spouse commits adultery, a tragic accident that leaves someone very different than before, infertility, depression, addiction, job loss, betrayal, miscarriage, a fatal diagnosis, rape, sexual abuse, incarceration of people we love, to name a few.

Then there are circumstances in our lives that are in our control but have spun out of control: our own addiction, we commit adultery, having an abortion, sexual immorality before marriage. Maybe we were the instigator in a divorce. Maybe we have been incarcerated. We struggle with: lust, anger, jealousy, envy, bitterness, hatred, betrayal, stealing, lying, eating disorders or same sex attraction, to name a few.

And often times, these circumstances lead to imprisonment. This was certainly the situation in Paul’s case. His circumstances led to bondage, although for him it was literal, for many of us, it is figurative but it is no more stifling than if we had real chains on our hands and feet. All of a sudden we are members in a club that we never wanted to belong to, labels and all. Hello, my name is...and I am grief-stricken, divorced, addicted, a victim of (fill in the blank).

We allow our circumstances to make us victims rather than victors. One sure way you can know you are still victimized by something is whether you are still keeping it hidden. Satan wants nothing more than to shame us into secrecy. He doesn’t want us sharing with others because he wants all of us to suffer in silence. He wants us to be bound to the club but our membership to be anonymous.

Ladies, there is freedom in Christ, freedom from the bondage of sin and the bondage of circumstances. Paul was in prison! What a shameful, disgusting existence! And the news about his imprisonment was spreading. It was getting out and people began to wag their tongues about it, hoping to increase his shame, hoping to increase the weight of his chains.

But what does Paul do? He is telling his own story! He is telling his own misfortune and he is excited that what has happened to him has turned out for the progress of the gospel! What a shock to his opponents! What a blow to the enemy! He rejoices that his misfortune has brought attention to the gospel and that others are becoming more bold in sharing their own faith (1:14).

So, what if Paul had kept silent? What if he had been embarrassed over his imprisonment? What if he had shooshed people and told them to “keep quiet” for fear of being more exposed? Who can say? But one thing is for sure, God used it to strengthen the faith of fellow believers and further the gospel to an otherwise, lost and dying world (1:12-18).

Beloved, each and every circumstance is divinely orchestrated by God in our lives. Some of our circumstances come through no fault of our own and some come as a result of consequences from our sin. God has dominion over it all. No, God is not the author of our sin but our sin is not hidden from Him. And praise God he uses our sin for His greater glory...if we let Him. When we begin to see that opening our mouths about our circumstances not only frees us but turns out for the further progress of the gospel, we are taking back the territory that the enemy has claimed. We are no longer tossed to and fro by the guilt and shame of sin or our circumstances.

We each have a story. There is no one else quite like us. No one who shares the specific set of gifts, talents or circumstances that make us who we are, that define us. You are unique. So, I implore you to USE your circumstances to minister to others who are in the same situation. If you are a victim of adultery or if you are an adulterer, tell your story! If you are divorced by your choice or not by your choice, tell your story! If you have a child that is not walking with the Lord, that is incarcerated, that has struggled with addiction of any kind, tell your story! If you have dealt with depression, sexual immorality or abortion, tell your story!

If Jesus has set you free, led you through or daily sustains you in your struggles, don’t be quiet! We need transparency in order to stand together and strive together against our opponent. He is strong and daily, hourly, he takes us down. We bob and we weave and we stumble and he is formidable...but he is not invincible. Paul closes his thoughts in chapter one of Philippians with this, ” (you be) in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me” (Phil. 1:28-30)

Suffering is part of the human condition. Sometimes we suffer and don’t know why. Other times we suffer at our own hand. But the bottom line is...we all suffer. The greater grace is when we hand that suffering over to Jesus and then allow Him to use it for the furtherance of the gospel.

Indeed, there are many clubs that I don’t want to be part of but my membership is already secured. I have been nominated for some and others I have signed up for but it doesn’t change my feelings about being a member. I wish it had turned out differently. But then, I look back at Paul and in my spirit, I begin to say along with him, “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:18-20 NIV). This is my prayer for you: Press on beloved. Press on!