[Excerpts taken from Philippians: A 4-Day Devotional by NewSpring Church

https://newspring.cc/devotionals/philippians-a-4-day-devotional/how-to-find-moments-of-freedom-in-anxious-times]

Read Philippians 1

Currently I am studying the Letter of Philippians with the kiddos in our Wednesday night zoom Bible study for the next eight weeks. This letter from Paul to the church of Philippi is filled with joy and thanksgiving even in a time of uncertainty and trials. Does this sound familiar to anyone? I know for myself, this past year (2020) has been a real doozey of a challenge with all the isolation and restrictions put on our lives. It was not how I had envisioned the year to go for me.

Paul’s life was certainly not going the way he had planned when he found himself alone in a prison cell. Yet, in Philippians 1:4-6 he wrote, “I always pray with joy… being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”

Trapped in depression or constant anxiety?

Feeling the weight of past mistakes or that you are just not good enough?

When everything seems to be falling apart, and we are certain we have let God down, grace intervenes and reminds us the story isn’t over yet. It’s only an intermission.

Your circumstances may not look good today. (They certainly weren’t for Paul!) Yet we can have joy and confidence knowing if it’s not good, God’s not done.

Not only is God not done with you, He wants to use the very circumstances you are struggling through today. In Philippians 1:12-14 we are reminded that God can use even the difficult things that happen to us to draw us closer to Him. Not only that, but often because of our chains, people will come to know Christ.

Your mistakes, your failures, and your heartache are part of your story. And when you fear you have let God down, grace trades our shame for courage, knowing our pain is not wasted and God is bigger than the circumstances we feel “chained’ to right now.

That is my prayer right now – for God to break all those chains I carried from last year to help me to live out 2021 in a way that honors Him and produces joy.

Reflect:

Is there something in your past that seems impossible to overcome?
How does knowing God’s not done with you change the way you look at the future?
What’s one way you can extend that same grace to someone else this week?

Prayer:

Father God, the joy You bring to my life through the grace and forgiveness of Your Son, Jesus, lives in me everyday. Help me to appreciate the little things around me and to break free from the chains that bind me. May I be a reflection of the joy & grace with others in my life. Thank you for loving me. In Jesus’s precious name – Amen!