Ephesians 6:22
22 Whom [hos] I have sent [pempo] unto [pros] you [humas] for [eis] the same [autos] purpose, [touto] that [hina] ye might know [ginosko] our
[hemon] affairs, [peri] and [kai] that he might
comfort [parakaleo] your [humon] hearts. [kardia] KJV-Interlinear
22 And I have sent him to you for
this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your
hearts. NASB
To those who are without a spiritual life or even a
functional spiritual life, then life in this world is delusional at best.
To those who lack contact with God in any manner,
if their life is under suffering, under incarceration, under stress of any
kind, then they lose not only now, but throughout eternity if they persist in
their anti-God attitude.
But to those who have God, have salvation, have
spiritual growth, then no matter what their circumstances, life is good,
because they have a definite future and destiny.
Paul, not unlike so many others, was incarcerated
and sentenced to death. For him there
was not going to be any way out of that situation. And most certainly he prayed for some form of
relief or deliverance from his imprisonment and for a better life, but that was
not going to be.
Most everyone prays for better things, for a better
life, for better circumstances, and that is only natural and certainly
legitimate. But, God has a plan for each one of us, and though we may not see
that purpose at any given point in our life, we can all see our purpose in
hindsight when it is all over.
Paul remained positive. Paul remained active. Paul remained productive. He studied and wrote and kept in
communication with everyone possible. He
had messengers and sent them to and fro, delivering his letters, as well as
news of his condition.
Paul did not fall into the poor-me trap. He did not cry about his situation. He did not quit on life. He took a bad situation and made it work for
himself and others.
And so we all have circumstances and certainly
ample opportunity to complain and feel sorry, and even quit on life. But is that what God intends? Should we not look at our situation and
figure out what it is that we should be doing that is positive and productive?
You know you better than anyone, but God knows you better
than you, so take a good look at yourself and ask the question. Why are you in this situation? What can or should you be doing to make it
positive and productive for you or for someone else?
Certainly your Bible study should be a priority,
but there are twenty-four hours in the day and we all know that you do not study
around the clock. So what else can you
or should you be doing?
