Sleep on This: March 19
Good evening, friend:
How is your faith this night? How confident are you that God is in control and at work? Yesterday morning, I watched the sun rise in a cloudless sky. This morning the fog obscured all but the next row of houses. Am I any less sure that the sun is out there, somewhere, even though I can’t see it? So, too, God is just as certainly there, just as certainly at work, even though it is shrouded to us for now. That is faith—the “conviction of things not seen.”
Continuing in Philippians, Paul writes these words beginning in verse 12: I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much bolder to speak the word without fear.
If you’ll recall, what has “happened” to Paul is his imprisonment and impending execution. For an evangelist and apostle who walked thousands of miles to proclaim the gospel, one could hardly imagine a LESS productive setting than to be chained between guards (as he likely was) in lockdown. And yet, that captive audience had apparently “leaked” his message so that the elite military guard had learned the name of Jesus. Not only that, other Christians, emboldened by Paul’s example, were speaking of Jesus “without fear.”
We are all in lockdown. So, what could YOU do in these circumstances to “leak” the good news of Jesus? One friend told me that he sent 100 texts out yesterday with the same message: Trust Jesus, do not be afraid, be at peace. Paul viewed even his imprisonment as being “for Christ” and serving the advance of the gospel. We can, too.
Lord, lay me down to sleep this night in faith that you are at work despite what I might see. Turn my heart outward; inspire and empower me to find ways to bless others with the hope that Jesus, still, is Lord! And may I rest well in that conviction. Amen.
Pastor Mark
P.S.—If you want to go to sleep with a chuckle, here’s one way to deal with nasty bugs.