To Encourage You

Philippians 1:21-25 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith”

Do you realize that the best thing, by far, that can ever happen to a Christian is to die?  Yet while we might know this in our head, based on passages like the one above, do we really believe this in our heart?  When we pray, do we seek what is the absolute best – even if it means deprivation for us, or even death, or something else? 

Maybe you’ve had a different experience than me, but in most cases where I’ve been around praying Christians, the prayers are all about what is best for us in this life rather than in the next.  We want above all else to be relieved of pain, of suffering, of anything that infringes upon the comfortable, while at the same time we say that we believe there is no sting in death (1 Corinthians 15:55), and that “to depart and be with Christ is far better,” as Paul says above.  What is it that we desire above all else?  Is it freedom from the troubles of this world – while at the same time staying in this world, or freedom from the troubles of this world, no matter what?  It’s a sobering thought, but one that I believe the Scriptures would ask us. 

In the verses above, written from within a Roman prison, Paul’s desire was that God’s will be done. If that meant that he be released from prison or otherwise be enabled to continue to minister to the Philippian church, so be it. Nevertheless, if that was not the case, so be that as well, for to Paul, personally, death was, by far, the best thing that could happen to him.  That seems to be the example throughout Scripture for those who love God – the desire for deliverance from suffering, if that is the will of God, or endurance through suffering, even if it means death, if that is the will of God.

Look at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who, in the face of being thrown into a furnace by the king of Babylon for not bowing down to worship an image of the king, said this: “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18).  In other words, “If the choice is life to the earthly benefit of us, or death to the glory of God, we choose death!”  Then think of the words of Jesus as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on the way to the cross: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). 

God’s will, no matter what, or our deliverance from trouble, no matter what, seems to be the choice that believers are constantly faced with as we walk through this life.  Surely, there is nothing at all wrong with the prayer for deliverance, but if that deliverance will only come through death, are we willing to accept that outcome to the glory of God?  That was Paul’s example, but more than that, it was Christ’s. 

May God help us to want His will more than anything else. May we desire that God be glorified in all ways in our lives – whether we eat or drink, whether we hunger or thirst, or whether we live or die, for, surely, “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”  And isn’t it His purposes, not ours, that we should be focused on?