"Because of my chains, most of the brothers
in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and
fearlessly.”
--Paul,
to the Philippian saints (Philippians 1:14)
Being imprisoned for one’s faith in Jesus Christ was not news to Christians in ancient Philippi. When Paul and his friends first brought the message of Jesus to this European city, he and Silas were thrown into prison…in the inner cell”. (Acts 16:23ff.) Years later, imprisoned in Rome for his faith in Jesus, Paul wrote to encourage the Philippians who now also were suffering. “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.” (Philippians 1:29ff.”)
Thus
the courage Paul demonstrated through his trials proved a blessing to others
that observed such. They were
“encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” (1:14.) Similarly, we draw strength from the
noble endurance of others amid trials who are suffering for Jesus’ sake. Believers in Asia Minor faced “painful trial”
from a pagan world and it rulers. Peter described
such as “…the devil…as a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”(1 Peter
5: 8.) What can one do under such duress?
“Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers
throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (v. 9.)Faith and fellowship are two great counterattacks God enables us to employ when Satan attacks us. Faith assures us that God is alive, and in control, and that it pays to serve Him. (Hebrews 11:6.) Fellowship reminds we are not alone, and that others understand, have endured, and are ready to encourage us.
It may be the faith of ten Laotian believers imprisoned in
Vientiane for sixteen months for meeting to study God’s word in the home of a
teen-aged sister in Jesus. She and another young Christian lady spent the
nights in a male prison, taking turns to lie on the floor of a broom closet,
seeking sleep. Some days they were compelled to sit on a corrugated tin roof
in the prison under a blazing Southeast Asia sun, or in the daily deluge of monsoon
rains. The saints had been betrayed to
the atheistic authorities by a false brother.
It may be the faith of their wives with their babies, continuing to
trust God while they waited in hope for their loved ones’ release. It could be the quiet example of a mother,
serving God as she cares for her children while praying night and day for the
conversion of her husband, the children’s father. It may be seen in the
acceptance of an older saint, burdened with the weakness and diseases of
age. It may be the answers of a babe in
Jesus to unfriendly questions about faith in a righteous God, while burdened
with concern for friends deceived by the post-modern mantra that “there is
neither an Eternal God nor an absolute moral standard.” Notwithstanding, God as He has in every age, by the faith, courage
and hopeful endurance we see in the daily walk of faith by others encourages
us.
In God’s strength let us be such an encouraging example to
others around us in our own generation.
Ted Kell
Brownwood, Texas
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