In Touch Daily Devotional 2nd November 2021 | By Dr. Charles Stanley | Tuesday Message
TOPIC: Living Above Your Circumstances
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Philippians 1:12-20
Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,
and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will;
the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;
the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.
What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,
for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
In Touch Daily Devotional 2nd November 2021 By Dr. Charles Stanley
When we’re going through hard times, it’s comforting to know that nothing can touch a believer’s life unless the Lord allows it. He has complete control even in our most difficult and painful circumstances. Through it all, we’re being held firmly in our Father’s loving hand, and His good purpose is being worked out in our life.
We may desperately wish for our circumstances to change. But to achieve His purposes, God allows us to go through trials that are designed to make us more like Christ. We’ll reap the spiritual benefits if, instead of trying to extricate ourselves, we let the Lord finish the work.
Paul’s time in prison proved to be a benefit for the gospel. Logically, incarceration should have hindered his ministry, but it had the opposite effect. During that time Paul was guarded by many Roman soldiers, and each new shift gave him the opportunity to explain the gospel to another “captive audience.”
We’re not promised an easy life, but God uses our trials to accomplish His will. Difficult experiences are given to us for our good, for the benefit of others, and for God’s glory.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: John 6-7
In Touch Daily Devotional 2nd November 2021 | Message By Dr. Charles Stanley. He is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, both located in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Stanley’s heart’s desire is to get the gospel to “as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as irresistibly as possible, through the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God.
