Defiant Joy: A Study On PhilippiansSample

DAY 3: JOY THAT DEFIES SUFFERING

Over 10 years ago, I went through a bad breakup that left me utterly heartbroken. I cried every day, I lost weight, I became depressed, and I refused to leave the house. I handled it without even a shred of dignity. 

Following the breakup, I remember sitting with a woman who had lived enough life to have perspective on the matter. She listened with sensitivity and compassion, but at one point she gave me advice I will never forget:

“Don’t let your pain go in vain.”

It never dawned on me that my heartache could be wasted. The breakup was a thing to survive and get through, not something to “make the most of.” 

Her words were cloaked in Holy Spirit wisdom, and they helped me to see everything differently than I had before. I could learn and grow, or I could endure it all for nothing. 

This motto—“Don’t let your pain go in vain”—characterizes Philippians 1. Paul is imprisoned, abandoned, and alone, yet he “continues to rejoice” (v. 18) and he trusts that “what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance” (v. 19). He believes that God will use his circumstances for good. God’s work will be glorious.

Turning Pain into Purpose

Because of Paul’s trust he spends his days with intention. Paul finds a way to turn his pain into purpose. This intentionality is most apparent in verses 12-13, where he writes, 

“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard.”

Here is what I don’t want you to miss: recall that Paul was under house arrest and constantly tethered to a Roman soldier.  Paul literally had a “captive audience". He made the most of it, by sharing the gospel with every soldier he met. 

Paul refused to let his pain go in vain. Anyone else would have seen prison as an obstacle, but he saw it as an opportunity. 

I once heard it said that our suffering can be purposeful, or purposeless. This is the strange joy we can have in suffering, that God can work redemption—even beautiful redemption—through any hard thing. It’s not a shallow, fleeting happiness but a deep, abiding joy anchored in God’s love. It is always available to us and for that we can rejoice.