GetWisdom PaperturnSampler FINAL SinglePages - Flipbook - Page 106
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LIVING FOR WHAT REALLY MATTERS
Of course, maybe you feel like thankfulness just isn’t compatible
with the difficult season you’re in. But remember—when Paul writes
this letter to Philippi, he’s in a Roman prison. He’s awaiting trial,
and he knows he may lose his life because of his love for Jesus. Even
so—Paul praises God, joyfully thanking Him for his friends.
4. Consider a hard season you have walked through or are currently in. How have you fought for joy? Where has God met
you with unexpected joy?
Paul’s joy isn’t just obligatory. In fact, these verses resound with
exultation:
Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations
of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer.
I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so
pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing
and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it
right up to the present. There has never been the slightest
doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work
in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish
on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
PHILIPPIANS 1:3-6,
msg
Wouldn’t you love someone to give you a compliment like that? I
break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger
to prayer. Paul rejoices in the good work God has done in the lives
of these people, and he quickly tells them that “there has never been
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