When Trials Become Testimony

Philippians 1:12-18 || Sunday, October 4

What is God up to in the midst of our trials? This is one of the toughest, most persistent questions we face as believers. We know that as we follow Jesus we will encounter trials of various kinds (James 1:2), but when we actually find ourselves in the fire, we often ask, "Why, Lord? What good could this be doing? What's your plan here?"

As Paul was sitting under house-arrest in Rome, he could have easily viewed his trial as a sign that God had given up on him or was even working against him. From the outside looking in, the odds were stacked against him: he was sidelined from the mission field and his life hung in the balance.

But Paul saw just the opposite. He was confident, in fact, that the Lord was using his imprisonment to advance the Gospel. Paul's trial became a platform for the good news of Jesus to spread throughout the emperor's guard, who marveled at Paul's joy and confidence in the Lord and spread the word to the people around them. On top of that, Paul's example inspired fellow believers to speak up for Jesus even when they knew that doing so could land them in Paul's shoes.

God placed Paul in this trial to give him an opportunity to testify about Jesus so that unbelievers would hear and wonder at Paul's God and so that other believers would be encouraged to trust God however challenging the circumstances.

Knowing God's purpose in Paul's trial, know this too, brothers and sisters: Whatever trial the Lord has placed you in, He has not forgotten you and He is not working against you. He is giving you, as His child, a chance to testify about Jesus' sustaining goodness, perfect sufficiency, and redeeming power. The unbelievers around you need to hear this, maybe for the first time, and your fellow believers need to be reminded of it, even if for the millionth time.

This does not downplay the real difficulty of our trials, but it does help us see God's purpose behind them. Remember that we have a Savior who was described as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3). But the ultimate trial that He faced on the cross — and every trial that we now face as we follow Him — is storing up a glory that we can't even begin to fathom (2 Corinthians 4:17).

Let's trust God with our trials, testify about Jesus in the midst of them, and keep clinging to the hope of the glory that awaits us.

In Him,

Noah