Recently I preached this series of talks on the book of Philippians, so below is the first of four talks.

Some thoughts / quotes / illustrations from the talk:

The key takeaway for me is that Paul is totally out of control (in prison), and yet totally confident of God being in control! And so it is for me and you, whatever you’re going through, that’s the case. I need to hear that.

Here are some of the juicy quotes I used, plus at the end some questions to reflect on:

Eldredge talks along these lines: “Choosing to see life as a journey reminds us to stop trying to set up camp and call it home. It allows us to see life as a process, with completion somewhere down the road. Thus we’re freed up from feeling like a failure when things are not finished, and can retain hope that they will be as our journey comes to its end. I want adventure, and this reminds me I am living in it. Life isn’t a problem to be solved; it’s an adventure to be lived… it’s also messy and not how we might have expected things to pan out.”

Oswald Chambers: “The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainties, consequently we do not make our nests anywhere… Certainty is the mark of the common-sense life: gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day will bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should rather be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God… Leave the whole thing to Him, it is gloriously uncertain how He will come in, but He will come…. Future plans are uncertain, but we all know that there is first God’s plan to be lived, and we can safely leave everything to Him, ‘carefully careless’ of it all.”

Can I be really candid? Personal circumstances in the last few months have dictated I’ve never been more stretched in this area. I’m clinging to Romans 8:28 that we know ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love him’; I’m trying to ‘give thanks in all circumstances’ [1 Thess 5:19]; I’m aspiring to James 1:2-4: ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’

v18 ‘Yes, and I will continue to rejoice’: on a much deeper level, Alexander Solzhenitsyn was able to reflect on his hideous suffering in the Soviet gulag: “It was only when I lay there on rotting prison straw that I sensed within myself the first stirrings of good. So, bless you, prison, for having been in my life.”

“Only by desertion can we be defeated. With Christ and for Christ victory is certain. We can lose the victory by flight but not by death. Happy are you if you die in battle, for after death you will be crowned. But woe to you if by forsaking the battle you forfeit at once both the victory and the crown.” Bernard of Clairvaux, so there’s a warning there, but…

Oswald: “When you really see Jesus, I defy you to doubt Him. When He says ‘Let not your hearts be troubled,’ if you see Him I defy you to trouble your mind, it is a moral impossibility to doubt when He is there. Every time you get into personal contact with Jesus, His words are real. “My peace I give you,” it is a peace all over from the crown of the head to the sole of the feet, an irrepressible confidence. ‘Your life is hid with Christ in God,’ and the imperturbable peace of Jesus Christ is imparted to you.

“What we desperately need to re-understand is that it is dangerous to be a true Christian. Anyone who takes his or her Christianity seriously will realise that crucifixion is not something that happened to one man 2000 years ago, nor was martyrdom just the fate of his early followers. It should be an omnipresent risk for every Christian. Christians should – need – in certain ways to live dangerously if they are to live out their faith. The times have made this apparent… And in combating the entrenched forces… the principalities and powers of this world, that very much includes the risk of martyrdom… It is time for communal, congregational action and corporate risk.” Scott Peck

Jesus is not primarily concerned with changing our circumstances to make life easier. He is concerned to change us within our circumstances, which is often painful.

Nouwen: “Look at the many ‘if’ questions we raise: What am I going to do if I do not find a spouse, a house, a job, a friend, a benefactor? What am I going to do if they fire me, if I get sick, if an accident happens, if I lose my friends, if my marriage does not work out, if a war breaks out? What if tomorrow the weather is bad, the buses are on strike, or an earthquake happens? What if someone steals my money, breaks into my house, rapes my daughter, or kills me?” Brennan Manning comments: “Once these questions guide our lives, we take out a second mortgage in the house of fear.”

So, I invite you to clench your fist tightly, see knuckles, and think of what you’re insisting on the right to control and hold on to – your hurts, your career, your kids, your finances, your dreams, your marriage, your anxiety, your bitterness, un-forgiveness, your reputation, your identity.

You can choose to live like that, but I encourage you to slowly open your fist and release the insistence on control… and repeat after me… Deuteronomy 33:27: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”

Questions for discussion:

• What was tightly in your fist as we prayed at the end? 
• Explore what is holding you back from being all in (and experiencing the win/win).
• “Jesus is not primarily concerned with changing our circumstances to make life easier. He is concerned to change us within our circumstances, which is often painful.” Do you agree? How do you feel about that?
• How might verse 6 bring you comfort and be a game-changer in terms of trusting God for your own life and the lives of those you love?
• What’s your biggest takeaway from today?