The, Even If He Doesn’t, Faith

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, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. ​

(Philippians 1:12-14)

Paul was writing from prison, not because he had done anything wrong, but because he had done what was right. Namely, preaching the Gospel. You would think a man of faith like Paul might be embarrassed to write a letter from prison. Doesn't that show weakness? Doesn’t that show a lack of faith? Doesn’t that paint God in a bad light? We love the stories of God’s deliverance, but maybe we would rather avoid the stories of struggle. If your favorite preacher only talks about faith as a means to escape the prison and not as a means to endure the prison then Paul might like to have a few words. God is the God of the Exodus, but he is also the God of John the Baptist, a prophet like no other who eventually lost his life because of his commitment to preaching the truth.

Faith in God does not mean that if you just believe enough He will be your personal genie and make your every wish His command. No, Biblical faith is the faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. A faith that says that the, “God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ‘But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up’” (Daniel 3:17-18).

Paul recognized that believers were gaining more courage when they saw his courage in spite of his circumstances. Sometimes your trial preaches louder than your triumph. We do not have some weak Christianity dependent on circumstances. No, whatever the case may be, we will thank God. Can we say like Job, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21)?
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Paul didn’t know if he was getting out or not. He goes on to write, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). Faith doesn’t mean things will end like you want them to if you just rev up your spiritual self enough and grit your teeth until reality somehow conforms to what is in your mind. No, our faith is not in our faith, it is in the One who holds the world in His hands. The One who knows the end from the beginning. And the one who, “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).