The Work - Philippians 1:1-26

For me, the greatest thing to know is that God is still at work. Sometimes, even now, I get so bogged down by the world. I see so much hurt, so much pain, so much suffering, that just living daily life makes me depressed. I get depressed not because of how bad I have it, but because there is such a world in need. Even today, I see people hurting; I see people confused, and it pains me. I see people that know God and have experienced Him personally, yet they still live in hurt. I know some day I will also go through serious pain - it is a part of living in this world. However, the best thing for me is knowing that God is still God.

I read here in Philippians of how Paul was literally in bondage - a prisoner for the Word - but even through that God was still at work. Through the pain that the Apostle was living in, God still had a plan. He was still in control. He was able to take a horrible situation to advance His word - the only thing that can deliver people from pain.

Paul talks about how sometimes he even wanted to die! That is a profound statement. Just think about that for a second. For someone to actually want to die, that must mean they have to be in some horrible pain. He was probably beaten, hungry, and tired. He was ready to die! But even then, he still had peace. He still knew that there was work to be done. He was able to look past his sufferings, and instead of blaming and being mad at God, he took light of the situation to see that his suffering actually led to the advancement of the Gospel. How I wish I was that mature! I wish I had the insight to actually put aside all of my pride, all of my self-righteousness, and all of my greedy beliefs, and simply put God first. That is what Paul did here in Philippians. He was in pain but he didn't care - he simply wanted to serve the Master.

After meditating on this, I get peace from it. I can look at the world for what it is worth. I can see the pain and the suffering, and know that even through all of this God has not forgotten about us. God is not in some faraway place - He is hurting too. He is right here with us during every tear shed. He is right here with us through every cry out, through every shaking body, through every stomach churning in starvation. God is not barbaric. He does not "take pride" in the evil of this world. If we could feel fully, even for a second, the pain that God must get from the world we would not be able to take it. How do I know? Because all of that pain was put on Christ on the Cross, and it was unbearable. He cried out in the agony of being forsaken. He cried out in the agony of bearing the pain of the world. He felt it. It is more real to Him than it is to us. So don't think that God doesn't care. He cared enough to bear the burden for us so that we can rest assured knowing that He is right here bearing it with us.

My inner self cries out sometimes after seeing the evils of the world, but I know that God cries out even more. God has a plan for it all, even when we have given up on the fact. The war is won but the battle must go on. Why, you ask? Because He is not satisfied. Satisfied with what? Satisfied with who He has. He could end it all right now if He wanted. But there are still people out there that need Him. There are still people that need to know they have salvation given to them if they just believe. When we give up trying is when the battle will be over. Whenever we stop trying to draw people in to the kingdom is when things will be done. We don't want that to happen! People are hurting, and now that we know God hasn't given up, then why is there still so much pain? Because we have begun to give up. That is a scary thought! We have begun to give up trying to help the pain - we simply sit back crying about the pain without doing anything about it.

People do not need a self-righteous person looking down their noses at them. They need people to get down in the dumps to where they are, to do what Christ did and bear the burden with them. How are people ever going to really grow in Christ if we don't quit walking by complacently instead of reaching out our hands to them? How are people ever going to know that Christ really does care about them when the people that say they follow Him just walk on by without even a nod? When they see us not caring, how are they ever going to come to the realization that God cares?

Through this election and time in America, people in the church are worried that things are going to get worse. They are worried that our morals are going to weaken. They are worried that less people are going to come to Christ, and more people are going to fall by the wayside. The problem, friend, is not Democrats or Republicans. The problem is not conservatives or liberals. The problem is not Obama or McCain or Bush or anyone else. The problem is the Church! The problem is that we have sit back and watched, expecting God to just zap everyone that is against Him. What an immature view (and I am talking to myself more than anyone)! What we need to do is quit complaining and do something!

That is what Paul did. When he was locked up in chains, he could have given up. He could have said all hope is lost. He could have just said that God must be done with him and moved on. But he didn't do that! He found even more encouragement in his bondage. He was able to see through the veil and see that God was still at work. This is what we need to do today in America. We need to look through the veil and see that God is still trying to work in America, but we are stifling Him. "We" being the Church! The liberals and anti-Christians aren't pushing God out of America - "we" are because we have given up. Now it is time more than ever to lick our wounds, get back on our feet, and face the Enemy for who he is, knowing that God is crying out to us to move. We need to set aside our differences, set aside our viewpoints, and simply say to each other that "God loves you and so will I", come together, and do something about it.

I sit here tonight contemplating on the pain in the world and I realize that I haven't done much about it. I have sit back and complained and whined, but when it comes down to it, what have I done? Not much really. Well, it is time to mature a little bit. It is time to take the mindset that Paul had and know that while things may hurt, God is still at work. It's my choice if I am going to keep working with Him or not.