Philippians is unlike most of the rest of Paul’s letters in that he includes a lot of personal remarks in this letter, almost to the point of being biographical. This week’s passage begins the first such section.

You can see this passage in Philippians 1:12:

This entire paragraph serves to show the Philippian believers that Paul’s circumstances are advancing the message of the gospel. All those around him know just why he is in prison, and that he is in chains for Christ. This proves to be a very encouraging opportunity for others to speak of Christ with boldness.

This paragraph is divided into two sections. This first verse sets up the explanation found in verses 13-14, which we will look at next week.

His first comment however is somewhat cryptic. He wants the Philippians to know something, and the sense of this is that they may have inquired about Paul. And since he is prison, what he is about to share is, in fact, the exact opposite of what anyone would expect. Two things are resulting from his circumstances. First, everyone around knows why he is in chains, and that it is for Christ he is in the situation he’s in. This has given him abundant opportunities to share the gospel with multiple people.

Second, his circumstances serve to encourage others to be bold as they share the gospel. If Paul can do this while in prison, then others can share their faith in their own situations.

Paul’s circumstances had the potential to be detrimental to the message, but have actually had the opposite effect. His terminology here is very general, and we cannot be certain if he is referring to his actual imprisonment, or the circumstances leading up to this point, or perhaps something else, possibly alluded to in verses 15-18. Paul assumes that the Philippians expected harm to come to the message of Christ.

But the opposite is true. Paul’s circumstances have caused the message of the gospel to advance. This term literally means to remove obstacles, such as might be done before an army as it advances. In this case, the obstruction is probably Paul’s confinement. But, in reality, this has not been an obstacle at all. Instead, Paul has had the opportunity to share the message with every member of the palace guard, and probably even more.

The underlying principle is clear. When it seems like the our way has been blocked, we don’t need to get discouraged. God may be choosing to work through other avenues to accomplish his will, avenues that we may not be able to ascertain as of yet.

So, if you feel like you are ineffective, and that your work has been obstructed, be patient, and watch to see how God may be working that we may not be able to see.

Because one thing is sure: He is working.

Question: How have you been surprised by God’s work when you thought the way was blocked? What has God done that surprised you? You can leave a comment by clicking here.