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 and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Chains. So much of life is trying to figure out why we have to deal with hardship. And in America, most of the time hardship is minimal. Paul’s hardship was real — he was thrown into prison for preaching the gospel. Many times this involved flogging - a brutal whipping that left one almost dead. It also involved exposure to the elements, poor sanitary conditions, and inadequate food. What I find interesting is that Paul does not focus on the hardship, he focuses on the advance of the gospel. This is an attitude choice he makes every day. The only way the palace guard would become Christians, is if they saw something different, something new and almost unbelievable in Paul. That something was Paul’s love for them. This love crossed over the normal boundaries of what the world understood love to be. Paul had unconditional love for them, even though they persecuted him beat him, and did all manner of things to him. His love went beyond his suffering. Another positive result of Paul being in prison is that leaders in the church had to step up. They had to pick up the slack that Paul could not perform in the ministry. This is very valuable leadership development and Paul sees it and calls it out as part of God’s plan.

So, how will I deal with persecution, hardship, false accusations, beatings, and theft?
Will I choose every day to have the right attitude as I go through the minefields of suffering this world can dish out?

Lord, thank you for this example from Paul. He clearly disciplined himself to be a humble servant of yours. He saw your hand of love in his life even in hardship. Teach me to see your hand in my life today.