Finding Joy in Suffering: How God Uses Hardship to Advance the Gospel
Can suffering actually serve a greater purpose? Philippians 1:12–13 shows how God uses even our hardest circumstances to advance the gospel and strengthen others.
When God’s Plan Feels Uncomfortable
If I am honest, I usually want God to advance His kingdom in ways that feel easy. I do not mind usefulness, but I do mind discomfort. Advance the gospel, Lord, just not through this diagnosis, grief, or loneliness.
Then I open Philippians and hear Paul speak from prison. He is under house arrest, chained to guards, restricted in movement, interrupted in his plans. If anyone might have been excused for self-pity, it was Paul. Yet his attention is not fixed on what he has lost. He is occupied with what God is doing:
What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.
Philippians 1:12
Paul goes even further:
It has become clear throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.
Philippians 1:13
Imagine Paul’s daily life. Guard after guard chained to a man who prays, sings, speaks the Word, and refuses bitterness. They were assigned to watch a prisoner; instead, they found themselves confronted with Christ.
Your Suffering Strengthens Others
Hear the ripple effect of Paul’s imprisonment. “Most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear” (Philippians 1:14). Paul’s platform for glorifying God was prison, and his chains became someone else’s courage.
This thought has helped me many times. We often think our suffering belongs only to us. We feel the weight privately, and of course, the pain is deeply personal. Yet God often weaves our trials into the strengthening of others. Your endurance may steady someone else’s trembling faith. Your quiet trust may embolden another believer to keep going, and your willingness to cling to Christ when life narrows may put the gospel on display in ways you will not understand until heaven. Seeing my circumstances as my platform for glorifying God gave me purpose after losing Mark.
I do not want to romanticize suffering. I hate it. I hate watching my loved ones suffer and hearing about the suffering of strangers. Chains are still chains. Grief is heavy. Tears are real, and Paul was not pretending prison felt pleasant. Yet he knew sorrow and joy can dwell in the same heart because joy is not rooted in circumstances. Joy is rooted in the Savior.
Paul’s joy was not “I love prison”. His joy was: “I love Christ, and Christ is being made known.”
Such a belief changes everything, and friends, this is why theology matters.
Limitations Do Not Limit God
Some of us feel chained to situations we never would have chosen: chronic pain, caregiving, financial pressure, a prodigal child, relational strain, a body that no longer cooperates, a season of obscurity after years of visible ministry or career. You fill in the circumstances I’ve missed. Perhaps you look at your limitations and think, “I cannot do what I used to do. I have no purpose anymore.” Such thoughts reveal we are measuring usefulness by freedom, strength, and self-defined opportunity.
Paul reminds us our limitations do not limit God. His definition of opportunity is different than ours.
In God’s hands, limitations become platforms. Not because suffering is good in itself, but because God is good and He does not waste what He allows.
That takes me back to Lydia and the beginning of the Philippian church. It did not start where anyone would have expected — not in a large synagogue or before a crowd, but by a river with a woman whose heart the Lord opened: small beginnings, unexpected people, and ordinary obedience. The same God who opened Lydia’s heart later used Paul’s chains to spread the gospel through the imperial guard. What a God.
If you feel confined today, ask Him for Paul’s perspective. Not so you can minimize your pain, but so your vision can widen. Ask, “Lord, how might You be making Christ known here?” You may not see the whole answer in this life. Still, Paul’s letter to the Philippians invites you to trust the Author when you cannot yet understand the chapter.
God is always on the move. The gospel is always advancing. Sometimes it runs through open doors, and sometimes it travels through chains.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
Name your chains honestly before the Lord. Then ask Him, “How might You use this place of limitation to advance the gospel?” After that, take one small step of faithfulness today. Encourage someone, pray for another burdened heart, choose worship over complaint, and speak one word of hope.
God can use your chains to put Christ on display.
PRAYER
Father, You know the places where I feel confined, limited, and weary. Thank You for Paul’s example and for the joy he found in Christ. Help me believe that what happens to me can serve to advance the gospel. Give me eyes to see the people around me who are watching my response. Make my life a clear witness to the fact that I belong to Jesus. Strengthen me with joy rooted in You, and teach me to trust Your purposes even here. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.
