Volunteers Of Christ Institute of Leadership RESOURCE Compendium of Teachings– Vol 1

Finding Joy in the Difficult Times

Philippians 1:12-18

As you probably know, an oxymoron is the joining of two words that don't seem to go together. For
example: light darkness, a deafening silence, a bold retreat, a powerful servant, a short sermon . . . . you get the
idea. And when you put the ideas of joy and trial together it sounds like an oxymoron. We think of joy as being
something that takes place in pleasant times. Joy accompanies good times, not difficult times.
But this is part of the problem. We have a narrow view of joy. And that is why we are studying Paul's
letter to the Philippians. Paul introduces us to a joy that is deeper than anything we have conceived with our
minds. It is a joy that is independent of circumstances. Yes, it is present in the delightful and good times . . . but it
is also present in the difficult and painful times.
This morning we are going to begin to look at some of the specific trials that Paul was facing and how he
was able to face them with joy. We'll continue our study next week.

I. JOY IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES

As we already know, Paul is in jail in Philippi. He is there after being framed for a crime he didn't commit.
He spent two years in Caesarea and then appealed his case to Rome. Everybody knew about Paul's arrest and
the Philippians were asking how he was "holding up".
It is hard to imagine what it was like to be in Paul's situation. He was isolated from friends and family.
They could visit but many surely stayed away. Anyone who has known someone who had a terminal illness
knows that many people pull away at these times. It's not that they don't care, it's that seeing people you care
about suffer and decay is difficult. I suspect Paul faced the same thing. Some of his friends remained loyal.
Others seemed to forget him. It must have been a lonely time.
He was unable to do what he loved doing. For over two years he had been kept from preaching in the
synagogue and teaching in the churches. He was unable to debate the learned men of the city. This was Paul's
passion . . . it was where he really seemed to "shine". Paul couldn't do what he enjoyed most. It would be like a
musician who couldn't sing or couldn't play their instrument. It was like an artist who could no longer paint. It was
a frustrating time.
He had lost any sense of personal freedom. Paul was chained to a Roman guard by a short chain on his
wrist all the time. He had absolutely no privacy. Even the most private acts were witnessed by the guard. Every
private word was heard by the guard. How demeaning and dehumanizing!
Paul had many of these struggles in his life. In the book of 2 Corinthians Paul tells us some of his story,
[2 Cor. 11:23-29]
I bet it was tough for Paul to get insurance! And one would think that it would also be tough for Paul to
remain positive and joyful. But in spite of all that has happened, Paul continues to rejoice.

Don't miss an important point here. Paul is a bold example that things do not always go well with
followers of Christ. Times sometimes are difficult. Circumstances are sometimes bad. Difficult times come to
those who have been living faithful lives. This is important to hear because sometimes we believe (and
sometimes are taught) that godly people are spared difficult times. We seem to think that when hard things
happen in life it is a sign that something is wrong with our spiritual life. But that is not necessarily true!

Things may be going well for you. Perhaps you are healthy, wealthy, popular and things are running
smoothly. If so, I applaud your good fortune. But please don't conclude that your blessings mean that God
approves of you more than others. That does not necessarily follow. If it did, then it means that Paul and the rest
of the apostles were not at spiritually advanced as you.
At the same time, it is important that you see that the chains that you wear do not mean God has turned away
from you. Your chain may be a devastating illness, financial stresses, emotional struggles, relationship problems
and you may feel you seem to be walking under a perpetual dark cloud . . . you are in good company. Faithful
people sometimes are asked to endure the chains of life.
With that said, listen to what Paul writes to the Philippians as he faces his difficult circumstances.
[Phil. 1:12-14]
Paul could have grumbled. He could have pled his case. He could have been bitter, or discouraged. But
he wasn't. Instead, Paul declares that his circumstances are being used by God. He points to two positive results
of his circumstances. First, the Imperial guard had heard the Gospel.

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Volunteers Of Christ Institute of Leadership RESOURCE Compendium of Teachings– Vol 1

The Imperial Guard was a group of elite soldiers, stationed in Rome. They were there primarily to protect
the Emperor. At times there were between 10,000 and 16,000 of these troops stationed in Rome. Apparently
these men also served as guards over the prisoners in Rome.

Paul was bound to one of these men with a short length of chain on his wrist. Every four hours the guard
would change. I'm sure some of the guards were harsh, some were friendly. All of them were too close! Yet,
instead of being bitter about this invasion of his personal "space" he saw an opportunity. Paul realized that he was
not only chained to soldiers . . . they were chained to him!
Paul had a "captive audience". For four hours at a time Paul could talk to these men about Jesus Christ. Six
different men each day! And apparently, his witness was effective. Paul remarks that because of his
imprisonment, the gospel of Jesus Christ was known throughout the whole Praetorian Guard. It is assumed (since
he sends greetings from those in Caesar's household. Philippians 4:22) that the gospel message had even
worked it's way into the Emperor's home. We're not saying that everyone became a believer . . . but some did
come to faith.

But there was also a second benefit to his situation others spoke the word of Christ more courageously and
fearlessly. God used Paul's situation to "light a fire" under some of the other believers. Perhaps they were
encouraged to carry on Paul's work while he was unable to do the work himself. Maybe these people were
inspired by Paul's example. Whatever the reason, the message was being proclaimed more boldly because of
Paul's situation. We see this same kind of thing many times,
 A church experiences a crisis and the people rally together and work through the crisis.
 A person contracts a disease and others rally around with practical expressions of love. Or the attitude of
the person suffering spurs others on.
 A church faces persecution in a communist country. And when the curtain of persecution is lifted we see
that the church is strong and growing. The people had to make a real choice, they can't sit on the fence.
Their faith becomes precious.
I think there are a couple of principles we can gain from Paul as to how to find joy in difficult circumstances,

First, we learn that though we cannot control our circumstances, we can control our response to them. We
don't have to despair when tough times come. We don't have to withdraw. These are choices we make. Paul
reminds us that whether a difficult circumstance defeats us or deepens us depends on how we respond to it. Dr.
Paul Tournier wrote,
Good and evil, in the moral sense, do not reside in things, but always in persons. Things and
events, whether fortunate or unfortunate, are simply what they are, morally neutral. What
matters is the way we react to them. Only rarely are we the masters of events, but (along with
those who help us) we are responsible for our reactions. . Events give us pain or joy, but our
growth is determined by our personal response to both
It is our natural response to feel sorry for ourselves. It is natural for us to wonder, "Why me?" But we can
CHOOSE to be joyful. We can choose to trust the Sovereign hand of God even when we don't see clearly. We
can choose to believe that God is indeed working for the good . . . even though the evidence seems illusive. It
won't remove the pain . . . but it will enable us to live joyfully in spite of it.

Second, we need to look for opportunities rather than wallow in our liabilities. Paul saw an opportunity to
share with those he would not encounter any other way. He used his chains as a teaching tool that would
strengthen others. He chose to dig deeper rather than to be swept away. Let me give you some examples,
 you can grumble about being homebound or you can take that time to do the reading, writing and
praying you've always wanted to do.
 you can grumble about financial stresses or you can take it as a challenge to find contentment and joy in
things that don't cost money.
 you can grumble about your physical condition or use your physical condition as your motivation for
getting started on that exercise program you've been putting off.
 you can complain about how empty the house is with the kids gone or you can travel or look for new
ways to occupy your time.
 you can grumble about your illness or you can use the time to deepen your faith and to minister to
others.
 you can complain about living in a small town or you can draw from the benefits of the small town.

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Think about the many people we may encounter in the difficult times of life we don't see at other times:
doctors, nurses, other patients, technicians, judges, police officers, social workers, troubled people of many types,
other students, neighbors, friends, others who have had a similar sorrows. If we stop feeling sorry for ourselves,
and look around for opportunities to glorify God . . . . we will be astounded. And we will find joy as we use those
opportunities for God's glory.

II. JOY WHEN DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE

There is a second trials that Paul had to endure. He was being attacked from other Christians. In the
military we would say he was being threatened by "friendly fire". These were fellow believers . . . or at least they
professed to be. Paul says, they were "preaching Christ." They were not false teachers, they were teaching truth
but with a contentious spirit. Listen to how Paul describes the situation,
(1:15-18)
Paul says that these people were preaching out of "selfish ambition, not sincerely, seeking to stir up
trouble for him." They were not motivated by a desire to reach others for Christ . . . their motive was to attack the
competition! In some way, they saw Paul's imprisonment as a chance for them to get ahead. They saw their
service to Christ as some kind of competition.

Now it is important that we recognize that sometimes WE are those contentious people. We see it in
growing churches all the time. As the church grows the influence of the old guard lessens. And in some churches
the "old guard" digs in their heels and refuses to make the changes necessary for real growth. They withhold their
support. They talk constantly of all the "trouble" in their church. These people are not seeking the Kingdom of the
Lord, they are working out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but seeking to stir up trouble so that they might
advance.

We see it in communities. Churches compete rather than cooperate. We want to be the best church and
so we find ourselves often celebrating and broadcasting the weaknesses of other churches. You've done it, and
so have I. On the outside we profess unity but every chance we have we underscore how inferior the other church
is. We are not seeking to advance the kingdom, we are seeking to advance our own congregation out of selfish
ambition.
We see it in relationships. We are real good at "raining on someone's parade"? Someone has a great experience
and we are quick to point out the problems. Someone has a great opportunity and we seek to steal their joy with
comments such as, "It must be nice . . . . (to have money, to have rich relatives, to not have to work like the rest of
us, to have a relative that gives you an edge . . . . ) Why do we say these things? It is because we want to be in
the spotlight. It is selfish ambition.

III. The Joyful Response to Difficult People

Paul told Titus that he should warn a divisive person once, and then have nothing to do with them. Paul
pleads with two women in the church at Philippi to agree with each other. Paul told the church in Corinth that
cliques were stupid and destructive. He confronted false teachers. . . and he even stood up to Peter and told him
he was being inconsistent. And to be honest, I would have expected Paul to come after these difficult people with
great energy. But he doesn't. Instead he says simply, "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."

What are we to make of this? When should we stand against difficult people and when should we back
off? Here's what I notice: Paul was fierce when the gospel was perverted, he was fierce when the unity of the
church was threatened . . . but he was passive when the attacks were personal.
You probably see, like I do, that his approach was the opposite of the way we handle things. We are immediately
aroused to anger when personally attacked and often unmoved when the gospel is distorted and want to "stay out
of it" when the unity of the church is at stake. Many of the times we are fierce in defending the faith, it is really a
front for avenging ourselves.
Paul understood that HE was not the issue. Did he want to be liked? I'm sure he did. Did it hurt when these men
sought to use his problems for their advantage . . . you bet. But Paul overlooked the personal affront and
celebrated the fact that

IV. God's word was being proclaimed.

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This doesn't mean that Paul thought these men would not have to give an account for their methods and motives.
He was sure they would. But it wasn't his job. God has told us not to retaliate. He has told us to leave judgment to
Him. He has told us to love our enemies. And when we do what God says we will have joy.

Joy comes when we approach difficult people this way because,

1. difficult people are diffused more quickly when we don't fight them. Maybe that was what Paul meant
when he told Titus to warn a divisive person once and then separate yourself from that person. To go
over an issue again and again only makes more of an issue of it. If you don't "let it go" it takes on a life of
it's own.
2. we realize that the worst thing anyone says about us is still not even close to what COULD be said about
us. In the slander and opposition we are reminded of God's grace and forgiveness.
3. our joy is not anchored to the opinion of the crowd . . . but the opinion of the Lord.
4. when we seek to love rather than strike back we often find that our enemies become our friends.
Let me give you three final principles we learn about dealing with difficult people.

First, we learn that we must always look at the big picture. We are seeking to build the Kingdom of God . . .not a
kingdom to ourselves. What people say about us is so much less important than what they say about the Lord.
We should be willing for God to use us in any way He deems appropriate if it will get the message out. Even if that
is the expense of our own reputation. Our joy is anchored in His glory . . . not ours.

Second, we must remember that sometimes we have been the contentious person. I don't think Paul ever forgot
that at one time he was zealous for the wrong reasons once too. At one time he persecuted Christians. He sought
to put them to death. He meant well . . . but he did wrong. Sometimes well meaning people do hurtful things and
don't realize what they are doing. We must continue to act with grace, even when others do not act that way
toward us. Someday we may need that grace.

Finally, we must remember that even though other people will disappoint us, God will not. If we anchor our joy to
the behavior of others, we will ride a roller coaster all our life. People are inconsistent. We want to live godly lives,
but sometimes we look more like the Devil that we do the Lord. We must look to the Lord for our satisfaction and
joy. We must have a relationship with the Lord that will still be sweet even if the entire world turns against us.

We have seen this in the lives of martyrs again and again. They have gone to crosses to be burned and
died singing. They have been thrown to the lions and died testifying of the Lord's greatness. They have blessed
others as they have been ridiculed. They have loved even as they endured hatred. They have rejoiced even as
their body was devastated by disease. These trusted God rather than men or the circumstances of life.

And the best example of all was a man who spent His life trying to help others. In return He was
despised and rejected. He spoke of love and was tortured and executed. And He extended forgiveness to His
attackers . . . even as He was nailed to a cross.

People will disappoint us . . . but God never will. He proved it at Calvary and if you give Him a chance He
will prove it in your life. And if we remember this, and trust God rather than others you will have joy . . . even in the
difficult times.

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