Joyful In Suffering
Today we’re continuing our teaching series on a book of the bible called Philippians, and it’s a series we’re calling Joy In Everything. It’s a series that’s all about finding joy in daily life, and what we’re talking about specifically today is finding joy in suffering. We aren’t talking about enjoying suffering, we’re talking about finding joy in suffering. I mean nobody enjoys suffering, which is why it’s called suffering. But the reality is everybody goes through suffering at some point in life. So the question isn’t will we go through suffering, it’s how can we still find joy when we’re going through suffering? How can we still find joy, still find a purpose to get up and keep going, when we’re going through hardships in life? This is what we’re talking about today. We’re talking about finding joy, finding purpose, finding something to still live for, when life feels heavy and hard. So let’s turn to Philippians 1 and get into it. You can find Philippians in the last quarter of the bible, and we’ll be in Philippians 1:12-30. The title of the message is Joyful In Suffering, and the big idea of the message is suffering can’t shatter your joy in life, when you’re living for a greater purpose in life...Suffering can’t shatter your joy in life, when you’re living for a greater purpose in life...
Here’s your context. Last week we learned that the Apostle Paul is writing this letter while sitting in a Roman prison facing the death penalty, not for a crime he’s committed, but for his faith in Jesus. So he’s innocent, sitting in prison, facing the death penalty, and one of the primary things he’s writing about is joy. It’s because he’s found a joy and purpose in life, that can’t ever be taken away by any suffering in his life. Historically we know Paul suffered a lot for his faith in Jesus. At one point he says this in 2nd Corinthians 11:23-27, “I have suffered far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes...25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked...I was adrift at sea. 26 On frequent journeys I was in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers. 27 In toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” Simply put, Paul knew suffering, which means he can relate with your suffering...He can relate with your suffering, relate with your heavy and hard days...Yet even though he’s been beaten with rods, whipped over 40 times on 5 different occasions, thrown into a Roman prison, and is facing the death penalty for his faith in Jesus. Even though he’s been through all that suffering, he still has joy. So today we’ll learn from Paul’s life 3 things we can do, to find joy when suffering like Paul. Let’s check it out.
Philippians 1:12-30 states, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me...”Paul’s talking about his suffering here. He’s talking about what has happened, which some scholars believe entails some of the things I just read from his letter to the Corinthians. But it certainly entails the suffering he’s recently been through with his Roman imprisonment. So the 1st thing we’re learning here from Paul’s life, is that when you’re suffering you need to...
1st Talk about your suffering. = You need to talk about your suffering, instead of holding it in acting like everything’s okay when it isn’t. There’s a stigma in the minds of some Christians where we think talking about our suffering displays weak faith. But if we’re walking around acting like everything’s okay when it isn’t, then what we’re really displaying is we aren’t being genuine with our faith. The entire book of Psalms is full of faithful people expressing their deepest struggles in times of suffering. We also have Jesus on the cross teaching us to cry out to God in our suffering when he prays Psalm 22:1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” So talking about our suffering doesn’t display we have a weak faith; it displays we have a genuine faith like Jesus, the Psalmists, and Paul. The church should be a safe place for people to express their deepest darkest struggles first to God, and then second to each other like Paul’s doing here. As Pastor Matt Chandler at the Village Church often says, “It’s okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to stay that way.” Or as Jelly Roll’s country song says, “I’m not okay, but it’s all gonna be alright.” My point is having a genuine faith isn’t about acting like everything’s okay when it isn’t. It’s about expressing that everything isn’t okay, but also trusting the Lord will make sure everything will be okay. Paul talks about his suffering, but he trusts the Lord in his suffering, and we should too.
Again vs. 1, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me, has actually advanced the gospel...” Notice Paul’s talking about something positive and joyful, and it’s that his suffering helped advance the gospel. This is the 2nd thing we’re learning from Paul’s life. When you’re suffering you need to 1st talk about your suffering, but you also need to...
2nd Find something to be joyful for despite your suffering. = If you notice Paul doesn’t just talk about his suffering, he shifts his focus onto something he could be joyful for despite his suffering. I know this isn’t easy, especially when you’re in the middle of your suffering. I also know every situation is different, so it can be harder to find something to be joyful for in one situation compared to another. You might need to spend more time talking about your suffering in a harder situation, before you can find something to be joyful for in that harder situation. But most of the time we can easilyfind something to be joyful for, despite the suffering situations we’re in. In fact Paul will talk about this more in greater depth in ch. 4. He says this in Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things.” He’s teaching us to find something to be joyful for, and then to dwell on it. He’s teaching us to learn to dwell more on our joys, than we do on our sufferings. Like I said it isn’t always easy, but it’s always necessary so our suffering doesn’t consume us. Paul’s in a Roman prison facing the death penalty, but he still finds something to be joyful for despite his suffering.
Again vs. 1, “Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me, has actually advanced the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. 14 Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word, fearlessly. 15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. 16 These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 17 The others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.” Notice he’s still dwelling on something that’s joyful, which is that Christ is proclaimed. He isn’t joyful over his suffering, he’s joyful over his suffering being used for something. He’s joyful over his suffering being used to spread the name of Jesus. In vs. 13 he says Christ is being proclaimed to the whole imperial guard, which is a group of elite Roman soldiers specifically trained to protect the Roman Emperor. So these guys are like our Navy Seals, and Paul says his suffering helped make the gospel known to them. In vs. 14 the Greek word for imprisonment can also be translated as bonds or chains, and many scholars believe Paul’s literally chained to one of these elite soldiers. So he can’t eat, sleep, use the bathroom, do anything without them attached to his side, which is how the gospel gets spread to them. It’s because Paul’s sharing the gospel with them while he’s chained to them. He’s chained to Maximus from Gladiator who can kill him with one strike, and Paul’s like, “So when do you want to do this?” Do what? “Talk about Jesus?” I don’t want to talk about Jesus. “It’s gonna be a long shift for you...” He’s literally chained to these elite Roman soldiers, or at least under their close watch, and they can’t shut him up. They can try beating him, but he’s already been through that! He’s already been beaten with rods, received 40 lashes on 5 different occasions, and didn’t shut up about back then, so he clearly isn’t shutting up about Jesus now. He’s talking Jesus with every elite soldier he’s chained to, and the gospel eventually spreads to the whole imperial guard. That means about 9,000 of Rome’s greatest soldiers are now talking about Jesus, and Paul’s joyful over this. He found something to be joyful for despite his suffering. It’s that Christ is being proclaimed!
Vs. 20, “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything. But that now, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” That’s such a critical verse that gives us the reason why Paul still has joy in his suffering. It’s because for Paul to live is Christ, and to die is gain. This is the 3rd thing we’re learning from Paul’s life. When you’re suffering you need to 1st talk about your suffering, 2nd find something to be joyful for despite your suffering, but you also need to...
3rd Find a greater purpose to live for in your suffering. = Instead of just focusing on his suffering situation, Paul’s focusing on what he can do to live for Christ while he’s in this suffering situation. In this specific situation he’s focused on the greater purpose of living for Christ, by sharing his faith in Jesus with the Roman imperial guards. This is important because your suffering becomes more bearable when you have a greater purpose to live for. It becomes more bearable when you still have something worth getting up for in the morning. I mean the reason Paul’s able to endure so much suffering, is because he’s focused on something that’s beyond his suffering. He’s focused on the greater purpose of living for Christ. It’s similar to what happens to some people when they run long distances and they experience what’s called runner’s high. It’s when their body suffers from running and it starts to release a chemical called endocannabinoids, which is similar to cannabis. When this happens their body starts to relax more and the pain of their run starts becoming more bearable. A lot of long distance runners I know say the only way to have runner’s high, is to focus on something that’s greater than the pain. If they focus on the pain they’ll quit, but if they focus on something beyond the pain they’ll be able to finish the race. Paul mentions something similar in Philippians 3:13-14, “Forgetting what is behind, and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised, by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” The reason Paul’s able to endure so much suffering, is because he’s focused on something that’s greater than his suffering. He’s focused on the prize, on the greater purpose of living for Christ.
But if you notice Paul also says to die is gain, which doesn’t make any sense to people who aren’t living for a greater eternal purpose in life. I mean for an atheist this life is all there is, and so there’s nothing to gain in death. Death for an atheist is a loss, not a gain. But for a Christian death is a gain, not a loss. For an atheist this world is the closest to heaven they’ll ever get. But for a Christian this world is the closest to hell we’ll ever get. For a Christian we gain in death because on the other side of death is the prize, of an eternally joyful life in heaven with Jesus. This is why Paul says for him to die is gain. It’s because death for the Christian is a transition into an eternally joyful life in heaven with Jesus, where like C.S. Lewis once said, every chapter will be better than the chapter before it. But until that day comes, we have to live for a greater purpose than what this world offers, or else our suffering won’t be bearable. You have to live for a greater purpose than the atheist view of being nothing more than accidental creatures evolved from a primordial soup, without any meaning or purpose for our existence. Paul teaches us to find a greater eternal purpose in Christ. He teaches us to live for Christ, as we look forward to being with Christ. He teaches us to live is Christ, and to die is gain. It’s such a great memory verse to guide us in 2025. It can be like the arrow on a compass constantly pointing us to find joy in Jesus in our daily lives. It can be a constant reminder that no matter what happens to us this year, with Christ we’ll always gain!
Vs. 23, “I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.” Notice Paul says he’s torn, between wanting to remain in this world to continue working for Jesus vs. wanting to leave this world to be in heaven with Jesus. He says being in heaven with Jesus is far better, but he also still has work to do for Jesus, including encouraging the Philippians with this letter. He spends the rest of vs. 24-30 encouraging the Philippians to keep living for Christ, despite the persecution they’re facing in life. But overall what we’ve learned from Paul’s life here, is that we need to 1st talk about our suffering, 2nd find something to be joyful for, and 3rd find a greater purpose to live for. Paul says that greater purpose is Jesus. He says, “For me life is about living for Christ every day, in every situation. If I die in the process? Well to die is gain, because it means I get to be with Jesus in eternity.” This view of life made Paul’s joy unshakeable, even while suffering from Roman persecution. I mean the Roman Imperial guards really didn’t know what to do with him. “Hey Paul, we don’t like you or your savior. So we decided to make you live and suffer.” That’s great news! Because for me to live and suffer, is to live for Christ. So thanks for letting me still breathe to serve Christ. “Okay then, we’ll just kill you!” Well that’s great news too! Because for me to die is gain! So can we schedule it sooner than later, because I’d really like to see Jesus?...This was Paul’s view of life, and it made his joy unshakeable, even while suffering from Roman persecution.
I think a good application question from this text, is what are you living and dying for?... What in your life are you living and dying for?...How would you finish Paul’s sentence, “For me living is _______?...Whatever you put in that blank, will determine how fragile and shakeable your joy is in suffering. Whatever you put in that blank, will determine how fragile and shakeable your joy is in daily life. For example if you put in that blank things like your career and family, then your joy will be very fragile and shakeable. It’s because eventually something will happen to those things. You could lose your job or lose your family member, and when that happens your life will fall apart and daily life will feel like death. If your life falls apart when your career falls apart, it means you’ve been living for your career. If your life falls apart when your family falls apart, it means you’ve been living for your family. Whatever causes you to fall apart is most likely what you’ve been living for, and the only way to not fall apart is to put something in that blank that’s greater than those things. The only way to not fall apart is to put something in that blank that isn’t fragile and shakeable, which is the solid rock of Christ. Jesus is our eternal God who came to die for our sins on the cross, and he rose again on the 3rd day to prove he’s eternal and so is the joy he offers us. We’ll always have access to joy in daily life, when we put our faith in him and live for him above anything else in life. Paul says to live is Christ, and to die is gain, and that view of life allowed him to face any situation in life. It allowed him to still have joy in suffering.
The Big Idea:
The big idea of the message is suffering can’t shatter your joy in life, when you’re living for a greater purpose in life...Suffering can’t shatter your joy in life, when you’re living for a greater purpose in life, and Paul teaches us that greater purpose is to live for Jesus. If you don’t live for him, then your life and joy will slowly die without him. But if you live for him, your life and joy will always gain as you go through daily life with him. So the question isn’t are you living and dying for something, it’s what are you living and dying for?...The question is how would you finish Paul’s sentence, “For me living is _______?...Whatever you put in that blank, will determine how fragile and shakeable your joy is...Let’s pray...