Ever Ask "WHY is this happening to me?"

All of us have times when we question God and say, "Why is this happening to me?"  Our first thoughts are often "This is NOT fair!  I don't deserve this!"

As I began memorizing Philippians I came across these verses in chapter one.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard[c] and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

Paul was probably had the same feelings we do.   It wasn't fair.  He didn't deserve prison.  After all, He had made a decision to follow Jesus!  Should things have gotten better instead of worse?

He was probably asking himself the same question, too.  "Why is this happening to me? But he paid attention to what happened and he had his answer.   He watched what happened to the people around him as he responded the right way to the "chains" he was in.   

• It advanced the gospel.
• It became clear to everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike,  that He was in his situation for Christ.  (I think it is interesting that the word is FOR Christ, not because of.  It was almost as if Paul was considering his time in prison as a gift to Christ.)
• Christians became more confident in the Lord and proclaimed the gospel without fear.

Wow.   What a perspective.  What if we practiced the habit of looking for the ways that our response to the difficult things we face can be an example to everyone around us and actually further the cause of Christ?