Witnessing Through Adversity

“Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really 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. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” Phil 1:12-14 (NIV)

Adversity creates opportunity.

The Apostle Paul knew adversity on a first name basis. He experienced the fangs of adversity as he served God and sought to spread the Gospel message. During his first imprisonment in Rome, Paul wrote a letter to the church he started in Philippi. Paul acknowledged how God used the adversity in his life to advance the Gospel. Instead of Paul’s imprisonment halting the movement of the Gospel, God utilized Paul’s adversity as an avenue for the Gospel to saturate the land.

One of my favorite quotes from Rick Warren is, “Everything that happens to a child of God is father-filtered.” If God permits something to come into your life, He will use it for your good and for His glory. God does not waste pain. God does not waste the trauma we experience while living in this fallen world. God redeems our pain and creates opportunities through our adversity to spread the Gospel.

What kind of adversity are you currently experiencing? Don’t ask “why”, but ask “what” is God wanting to accomplish through the adversity He has allowed into your life.

Pursuing God,

Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor