Joyful Ruins

Philippians 1:13

As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.

Paul’s boast here, as always, is about his weakness. He’s in chains, imprisoned, and yet it’s  Christ’s will. So Praise the Lord!

I interpreted this verse for myself this morning, as in my failure, my weakness, even those are for Christ. I am a perfectionist, incredibly hard on myself wen I make mistakes, when I don’t stand out, when my pride is hurt, and my high expectations for myself are not met.

Therefore, it is such a different attitude to see my own failure and think, “This is also for Christ.” After all, the Lord can break those chains whenever He wants, so He must be leaving Paul in them for a reason. It’s the same for our failures and weaknesses. Christ uses them for His glory, so rather than feeling ashamed (v.20), we should trust and watch for God’s workings in the midst of it all.

We are human, so failure is inevitable. Our response to that failure is our choice though. We can respond with pride and hurt, or we can say, “I am in chains FOR CHRIST.”