Paul's Situation - the Negatives

Let's look at Paul's situation, all that was swirling around him, both negative and positive.
What were the varied pressures Paul faced? Paul as in prison for the sake of the Gospel. He was in chains. His activities were limited and he didn't have the freedom to go about in ministry. At the same time there were those on the outside who were preaching Christ out of contention supposing to make things harder for him while he was in prison. He was not in control. These enemies were preaching out of rivalry and envy and selfish ambition. These were terrible sins against the Apostle.

In addition there was the threat of death hanging over his head. He hoped to be released and fellowship with the saints again. Paul was now an older man, so perhaps his energies were limited as well. He would have liked to be doing more for the Lord but he couldn't.

Paul's Situation - The Negatives 

In spite the situation Paul was rejoicing because of the fellowship of the gospel supplied by the Philippians believers. He was glad because even though he was in chains, his imprisonment had resulted in the furtherance of the gospel. In fact, the gospel message had been made known throughout the palace guard. His captors knew well that he was in chains because of the gospel.

In addition many of the brethren had been even bolder in their witnesses and had spoken the word with courage and boldness. It did not matter what happened to him. His only concern was that whether by life or by death, Christ would be magnified in his body.

In Acts 16 Paul was denied his desire to go into Bythinia. Rather he responded to a vision of a man from Macedonia to come and help them. Paul went in obedience to the leading of the Spirit and faced four difficult situations.

First the Vision, Lydia's conversion, the slave girls who had a spirit by which she could predict the future; Paul was beaten and imprisoned without a trial at Philippi. The jailer was converted to Christ along with his household. Paul was released from jail by the authorities after he revealed to them that he was jailed and beaten without a fair trial. He was then ordered out of the region and he went on to Thessalonica.

Everywhere Paul went he suffered for Christ ministered to people's souls and people were won to Christ. His efforts determined the behavior of government magistrates and he was finally free to preach the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul had to continually deal with the rigors of an itinerant life. He had no home of his own and had relied on the hospitality of others.

How would we react in similar circumstances?

Think about our typical reactions to such circumstances. How do people tend to react to the kind of pressures Paul was under? When the heat of life  descends on us we tend humanly to question God and find fault with his dealings of us. We might naturally tend to complain, grumble, and react with bitterness, anger and say, "Why Me?" This leads to self-pity, fault finding, shifting of blame to people who are impacting our lives. We reason that if circumstances were different we would feel better and be less stressed. 

How do people in general tend to react when good things happen? The temptation is to relax and take things for granted. We tend to take the credit for the good times rather than giving glory to God. We become complacent and self-confident with material things. There is the tendency to boast about our accomplishments and prosperity. A soft life tends to work against us spiritually, so that we do not feel we need the Lord in our lives.

How might instinctive sinful reactions affect the situation?

If Paul had started a spirit of murmuring and complaining about his circumstances he would have been blinded to his blessings which he talked about so freely. He could have grumbled about his rights and tried to take matters into his own hands to force changes. To do such a thing while in prison in Phillipi would have probably aroused the animosity of the jail guards and compounded his suffering. Seeking to respond by doing what comes naturally would have aggravated his pain and raised his stress level. Not only would he have suffered from his stripes at Phillippi but he would have begun to suffer sickness and other ailments on top his physical pain. Stress does not come because of what happens to us, but how we respond to what happens.. If Paul had reacted to Epaphroditus's illness in the flesh he might have effected an alienation with him and ruined his friends opportunity to be a blessing to others. His friend's illness might have been such a burden that Paul could have missed the blessing of his friends ministry. Epaphroditus's ministry would have been in vain and the things Paul said about this good friend would never been said to the Philippian believers. All he would have succeeded in doing was bemoaning his circumstances and burdens. Indulge in such self pity and fear destroys objectivity.  Would we have the awesome letters Paul left for the church if he had complained and become bitter?

The answer to that of course is no.  Paul's character was developed under fire, and so is ours.  Let's face it, we're blessed to live in the West.  The truth is, the continual blessings can soften us of we let them.  When the fire comes, and it will come, we need to be ready and go through it rather than try to escape it.  We don't need  a way out, we need a way through! Your Kingdom come your will be done!  Do in me what you want to do.  I want to be the person You created me to be!

Dig for motives that tend to rule the human heart, producing ungodly reactions. Spend some personal time on the following question, and seek the Lord for how he may be speaking to you now. What do Acts 16 and Philippians say. Demonstrate or imply about why people tend to react in ways different than Paul?