Despite Any Circumstances.

The apostle Paul is most assuredly one of the most joyful people displayed in the Bible. It is apparent that following his conversion (as described in Acts 9), Paul submitted himself fully to furthering the Kingdom of God and proclaiming Christ to every place that God allowed him to go. He was so committed to the Gospel (and so unashamed...Romans 1:16) that he could stay strong and remain faithful despite any circumstances. There are so many passages that come to mind, but I'll mention just a few.

"And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God's message without fear." --Philippians 1:12-14.

Can any of us honestly say that if we were in prison for speaking boldly of the truth of Christ, we would share this same truth to the very people that are holding us as prisoner?! We should be able to say just that! We have the faith that never fails...the faith without fault...the faith that is timeless...the faith that is the answer to everything in this life...because our faith is in the one and only LORD and Savior Jesus Christ! So why in the world wouldn't we proclaim this Gospel even from a prison cell as Paul did?!

"We live in such a way that on one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. We have been beaten, put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. We faithfully preach the truth. God's power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, yet we have everything." --2 Corinthians 6:3-10.

How often do we complain when one little thing throws off our plans for the day? Would we be willing to live lives like those described by Paul in this passage for the cause of Christ? That means that we have to care more about that cause of Christ than the cause of ourselves. Did you get that? It means that we have to be selfless. As John 3:30 says: He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.

Paul is going hard about this all through Philippians and his other letters...but rather than me typing out all of the instances, how about I point you toward a few:

Philippians 1:20-24.
Philippians 2:14-17.
Philippians 3:7-11.
Philippians 4:10-13.
1 Thessalonians 2:4-6.
1 Timothy 6:12, 17-19.