Unexpected Rejoicing

Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Philippians 2:17-18

Christians do unexpected things. Take Paul and Silas for instance after they are beaten, put in stocks, and imprisoned in Philippi, we read, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God.” Their response to bodily harm and unjust imprisonment is prayer and joyful singing.
Paul responds in an unexpected way in his writing to the Philippians when he continually emphasizes joy. He is in prison, they are suffering, and he keeps finding reasons to rejoice. Here again, he points to his life, which is being given as an offering, and connects it with their faithful witness despite persecution. The result is that the gospel is preached and demonstrated and so he encourages them to rejoice despite the difficulties. This is what unites them and it is what completes Paul’s joy(2:2) with the ones he holds in his heart(1:7).
How can Paul do the unexpected? How do Christians rejoice in unexpected  circumstances? It is because they are connected to the suffering of Jesus. When we suffer for our faith, we show the world the kind of love Jesus showed. Being able to love like Jesus in this way is the highest honor and it demonstrates the power of the gospel to transform lives.
Gordon Fee wrote, “The joy comes from our relationship with Christ and with one another in Christ… the suffering must be the direct result of trying to bring others in on the joy, or it deflects from Christ’s suffering.”
May you trust the Lord in all circumstances, even to the point of unexpected rejoicing, if you are called to suffer for the name of Jesus.

Our God and Father,
Most of us live in comfortable situations, where we believe what we want with few problems. We pray that you would strengthen our understanding and our commitment to the truth of your gospel. Help us to prayerful share the good news and rejoice that it is preached even if we face difficulty, ridicule, or persecutions because of it. Let our joy be evident to all because of the joy of Jesus, Amen