Philippians 4:11: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content.” The words of Paul remind us that we can be content no matter what our circumstances are. The reason is that we can endure these things is because of the hope that we have in the Lord. And as stated later in Philippians 4:13, the reason that we have hope is because He gives us the strength to do all things. That includes enduring the trials of life.
Matthew 5:41: “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.” Sometimes when the trial involves another person, they can make unreasonable demands of us. It can be difficult to even do what they ask of us to begin with. But Jesus takes it even further. He says that we do above and beyond what is asked of us. I believe that is when we are displaying an excellent spirit. Daniel was one in the Bible described as having an excellent spirit. These are the ones displaying godly character and bearing good fruit.
Job 23:10: “But he knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” The comfort we have in the trials we endure is that they can’t happen without God allowing them. And the trial we have is the one that is designed to bring out the best in us. As Job stated in this verse, “But he knoweth the way that I take….” That means that God knows how I will respond and He knows the thing that will bring about a godly result in us.
Romans 8:18: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Paul tried to keep these things of this life in perspective. They easily overwhelm us at times. But it’s helpful for us to look at these things in the light of eternity. If we keep an eternal perspective in mind, we can endure more than if we are just thinking about here and now. It’s yet another reason to be setting our mind on things above and not on things on the earth.
Psalms 34:19: “Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” The reason we can continue on is because our confidence isn’t ultimately in ourselves. It’s in Him. We know that we will go through some difficult things in this life. But we also know that He will never leave us or forsake us. We don’t have to let the trials win because we know that He will give us the victory in the end.
Philippians 4:11: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content.”
Matthew 5:41: “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”
Job 23:10: “But he knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
Romans 8:18: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
Psalms 34:19: “Many [are] the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”