Seeing Jesus in Our Circumstances

Philippians 1:12-25

If you had the power to change your circumstances, would you? Most of us would quickly say yes. But the reality is, we must learn to live with some hard situations, since only God has the power to alter them. And in His wisdom, He’s allowed them to remain.

Consider Paul, who desired to preach the gospel in Rome but didn’t anticipate the route God would use. It began with false accusations in Jerusalem, an appeal to Caesar, a sea voyage, a shipwreck, and time spent in prison. But as he sat chained to a Roman guard, he wrote that his “circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel” because the “cause of Christ” was widely known to be the reason for his imprisonment and emboldened many to speak as witnesses (Phil. 1:12-14).

What looks like a shipwreck or detour in our plans could actually be God’s ordained path for us. It may include financial challenges, health issues, or relational conflicts, but there is one certainty to which we can cling: Jesus Christ is our life, and He never changes.

Conditions around us will fluctuate, but if we belong to Christ, He’ll use every situation to accomplish His will in and through us. May we share Paul’s desire—that Jesus would be exalted in us, no matter what.

Bible in One Year: Deuteronomy 6-8