21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
This has long been one of my favorite verses, but when I discovered the true story of the Book of Philippians, it became ever more important to me. The Apostle Paul writes the Book of Philippians while chained to a Roman guard, literally imprisioned for his faith in Christ. Having appealed his case to Rome, he finally arrived in the place he has always dreamed of preaching, only to be confined, unable to preach publicly, he took to writing to be an encouragement to the churches that he had started. He was facing a death penalty, and yet he had discovered a sense of joy that overwhelms the mind when one tries to fathom it. In spite of the circumstances (prison, death sentence, unable to preach publicly) that for most would have left us in the depths of depression, Paul seems to have found contentment, peace, and fulfillment. Someone had contacted him in prison to let him know that people were out preaching with improper motives. They were sharing the faith of the gospel for personal gain. And Paul, could have responded in anger, or frustration, but instead declares that whether for proper motives or improper, the gospel was being preached and for that He had found joy. Then he begins to discuss his pending sentence of death, and he declares that if he lives, he experiences Christ, but if he dies, he is with Christ, an even better position.
From the Message, this passage gives such insight to his true thinking:
Philippians 1:21 (MSG)
21 Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose.
And today I would declare to you that if you can discover a true joy in Christ, one that supersedes our need to please others, our desire to acquire, and our wanton abandon to be liked, - if we could truly discover fulfillment and peace that surpasses our ability to understand - truly live IN CHRIST - then we can discover as Paul did the realization that either way, we win. If I'm alive, I experience Christ in a real way, and I share my faith with others. If I'm no longer in this life, I'm with Christ for all eternity. Life versus an even greater life. I'm a winner either way.
My reason for sharing this today: as I was praying this morning, I thought of friends who were facing tough decisions; medical, emotional, life-changing decisions. They are not trivial and I know the agony that many are facing today trying to help family members make choices. I remember my mom as she stared down the final moments of life as cancer had robbed her of the quality of life she had so enjoyed, and she came to a place where we had make tough decisions. These things are never easy, and anyone who says they are has either never faced anything OR they are just cold and heartless. The reality is that life is precious and when someone we love is suffering it's hard to make rational decisions in those moments.
I also know there are many who are facing tough giants in their life - giants of financial struggles, giants of family drama, giants on the job - the reality is that we all are facing things that are sometimes bigger than what we know how to handle and many times we feel that defeat is certain. Regardless of the battle today, I want to extend some hope. You see if Paul could be chained in prison under a death sentence and find joy in Christ, we can too. I think his joy was found in a later verse where he declares that he had learned in whatever situation to be content.
Today if you are facing tough stuff, surrender the control that we long for to Christ, and be content to trust Him no matter the results. If you can place your trust in Him, regardless of the outcome, you suddenly deflate the enemy because he knows that if your trust is in Christ, you win either way.
TAKE A MOMENT - What struggle are you facing today? What is it that you have prayed and prayed and prayed about but seem to still feel defeated? What is the giant in your life that keeps coming after you? Whatever it is, I want you to try something different today. I want you to surrender your worry over to God. Most people that I know, they will pray about a situation, but they rarely surrender the situation. They take it the altar, lay it before the Lord BUT then they package it up and take it back home. Today, I want you to leave it in the hands of the Lord. Surrender the end result to His will for you.
I know that seems like an impossible task. But if as you pray and surrender it to Christ, you can adopt the posture of "Whatever your will is Lord, I will accept it. I'm leaving this with you," - if you can adopt that posture I believe you can suddenly feel a release that only He can bring. Paul declares If if live I experience Jesus, If I die, I'm with Jesus - I can't lose. Today, regardless of your situation, when you boil it down to the will of God in your life, you are a winner either way.
My mom looked at me about a week before she passed. And she said "Rodney I'm really tired of fighting, I'm ready to go home. Will you be mad if I just surrender and stop fighting." I think she had come to the place where she realized that her time had come, and she could keep fighting or she could surrender to God's will, and be with Him. So armed with permission from her family, less than a week later, she took her last peaceful breath on this side, and walked into eternity arm-in-arm with Her Savior and Lord.
There is something so peaceful about surrendering to God's plan, no matter what it is. I'm striving to pursue God's will for me, so that I can live in peace, experience His joy and declare that no matter the outcome of this battle, the war belongs to the Lord, victory in Him is secure, and I win - either way.
MEMORY VERSE - Philippians 1:21 (MSG)
21 Alive, I'm Christ's messenger; dead, I'm his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can't lose.
PRAYER DIRECTIVE - As you pray today, set aside your personal plans - your will of how every situation is going to turn out. As you pray, don't have the presecribed plan for God to work according to your will. Don't pray like this, "God here is my need, and if you could work it out this way, that would be great." Instead surrender your need to His hands, and surrender to His will on how it can be accomplished. Sometimes He says "YES"; sometimes He says "NO"; sometimes He says "WAIT"; sometimes He says "You've got to be kidding me." Regardless He always answers, but if you will trust His answer, His timing, and His plan, you can experience an abiding Joy and Peace in knowing that He is FOR you, Not against you, and His plan is for you to prosper - you win, either way!
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