Rejoice! Your Suffering Exalts Christ.

Part of our love’s abounding in knowledge and in all judgment is seeing things the right way—developing the right perspective in difficult circumstances, especially when you are suffering. Paul viewed his circumstances from God’s perspective, and then he guided the Philippians to see his difficult situation correctly. They needed help in reaching the right conclusion about his straits. He writes, “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.”

We tend to get hung up over a spiritual hardship because we focus on the event itself or on the sorrow or difficulty of the event. We don’t look beyond the immediate to see how the Lord is at work in our own life and in the lives of others, even of future generations. We must see difficulty from God’s perspective and know that in His sovereignty He is a work accomplishing His plan. Paul testifies that the difficulty he was going through resulted in the furtherance of the gospel.

Paul had open eyes regarding his circumstances, but he also had an upward gaze, knowing that the Lord was at work in people’s lives, even though in the moment he had it hard. We never know how many people’s lives will be impacted for Christ because we were willing to go through a difficult time.

If we see things the right way, our disposition will be one of joy. Otherwise, we will struggle. We know that the Lord loves us and that He works all things together for good to them that love Him. We love the Lord Jesus, we trust Him, and by faith we know that God is sovereign and that His power and goodness are at work. Believing this, we can see our situation the right way when we suffer.