This past week we looked at Ephesians 3:1-13 where Paul shared with the Church in Ephesus about the tribulation he had endured for their sake and the sake of the gospel. Amazingly, Paul didn’t view his tribulation and trial in a negative light, nor did he resent his calling in light of that tribulation. Paul saw his calling as the grace of God.
Ephesians 3:1–13 (NKJV) “For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power. Purpose of the Mystery 8 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.”
With this, Paul told the church in Ephesus to not lose heart in light of his trials. Why? Because he wasn’t losing heart over them either. He surely did not enjoy all of his affliction but he saw the value in what God called him to and was having him go through for the sake of the gospel. It is easy to be discouraged by trials that we face and that we see others face but it’s important that we focus less on those and more on Christ in the midst of it all.
Following this instruction we dive into Paul’s prayer which we will be looking at this Sunday. Paul’s prayer does not address the affliction that they might face for the gospel. His focus instead is in on their spiritual welfare.
When we see the value of what we are going through for the sake of the gospel it becomes less about our trials and more about the work of the Lord. In the time that we are in it is easy to set our minds on the physical struggles and be consumed by them. Whether we are dealing with financial struggles, physical illness, or perhaps just tired of quarantine we must bring these things before the Lord in prayer but not these alone.
Pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ in light of everything going on around us but don’t let yourselves be consumed and discouraged by it all. We serve a God who is sovereign and in control and despite the sickness, the quarantine, the various decisions of our government, or whatever else could be going on in your life right now it will not separate you from the love of God and it shouldn’t discourage you from serving the Lord in control. Even so, pray that in the midst of this your fellow servants in Christ will not lose heart with all that they are enduring. Pray that their faith remains strong and firm, knowing that God’s plan accounts for this all.
In Genesis 50:20 we find great encouragement for a time like this. Joseph, the son of Jacob (Israel), was sold as a slave to foreigners who took him away to Egypt. Joseph was then imprisoned as he was falsely accused of laying with another man’s wife and through the Lord using him to interpret dreams would then be placed as second in command in Egypt. This position given to him would then allow him to save his family from the coming famine and bring them to Egypt. Here in Genesis 50:20 we read:
Genesis 50:20 (ESV) 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
What’s important here is that what his brothers intended with evil and sinful God meant and intended for good. God did not merely use what they had chosen to do, He intended and meant it for good. This means that God planned it this way and not merely made use of a bad situation. Even when things get rough, we are experiencing His grace.
God isn’t going to just use what we face for good later, He has a plan for it already and all we face fits in that plan. We need not lose heart because whatever we face and whatever we endure, He is in control. We can take joy in the fact that God is not surprised by our affliction and we are not in the midst of His plan B; this was His plan from the beginning.
So praise God for His sovereignty in the midst of this all and pray that your brothers and sisters in Christ would rest upon His grace rather than stressing over fear of the virus or governmental control.
Soli Deo Gloria
- Pastor Kyle Horton