“12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,”
Do you live with regret for things in your past? Most people do, but a sad way to live. Certainly no one’s past is perfect, and their will always be things of a sinful nature we wish we hadn’t done. But, what about the testimony of the gospel to make something beautiful out of something ugly?
We serve a God who has promised to make all things in our lives work for good, somehow, someway (Rom. 8:28). It may be hard to see how some of your past can actually lead to something good, especially the deep, hurtful things. But, think about it with me for a moment. You wouldn’t be who you are today if not for those things
I know someone reading this can say “But what about that horrible violent thing that happened to me?” Of course, you wish that hadn’t happened…but it did. And, God wants to use ALL of your past to make you who He wants you to be. The testimony of who you are in Christ today is so much stronger because of what you’ve been through. God has redeemed your life from the pit.
St. Paul was writing the Philippians from Jail. Jail is certainly embarrassing. Today if one our church leaders was put in jail, we’d probably wonder what they did wrong. Well, like your past, it’s not always about what you did wrong. Sometimes bad things happen to innocent people, like Paul…perhaps like you.
Paul was confident the gospel message he preached was going to be even stronger because of his chains. We too can know that God wants to use our entire life’s testimony as a powerful witness to His resurrection power. Go ahead. Hold your head high no matter what you’ve done in the past. Our God is in the business of making something beautiful out of something ugly. Remember, you’re a child of the King, He loves you, and so do I.
And remember, Christ is risen…and so are you!
Grace & Peace,
+Pastor Brad
Prayer
Father of all mercy, thank you for saving my life from the pit. Thank you for making me your beautiful child. Help me to be a witness to your resurrecting, and remaking power in this lost and broken world. Amen. Alleluia!