Godly Confidence

1:18b-19a yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn out for my deliverance

Paul now begins to reflect upon his expectations of the near future. In the context, it makes more sense that Paul is referring not to his deliverance from prison here but to a more ultimate salvation. This is the way the vast majority of commentators take it, though most translations render it "deliverance." (It is the common Greek word for salvation used throughout the NT.) Paul seems to be saying this in v.18b-20: "I will rejoice because I know that this (present circumstance - i.e. imprisonment) will result in my ultimate deliverance... I eagerly hope and expect that I shall not be put to shame, but that Christ will be exalted in me, whether through a sentence of death at the hands of the Roman authorities or through the continuation of life (probably referring to release from chains). All this will be made possible through your prayers and through the help of Christ’s Spirit." In other words, Paul is expressing confidence that whatever happens to him at the hands of the Romans, whether he is released or killed, he will be being delivered by God.

Paul’s language here is so close to that of Job 13:16 (part of it is word-for-word in the Greek) that scholars have concluded that Paul was consciously explaining his circumstances in the context of Job. Thus, he is confident that in spite of his present troubles, God in the end will rescue him and glorify him (like He did Job), whether through release from chains or through the ultimate release for the believer: death itself.

What joy and relief there is for the believer that he can have confidence that his present troubles will not be the end of the story, but that God delivers, always ending the story with glory! Paul’s statement should be our regular statement of faith when we are hard-pressed with difficulties: "I will rejoice, for I know that this shall turn out for my redemption!" If God works even Roman chains according to His good purposes, then certainly our little trials are not outside of His control. And we can have confidence like Paul, not necessarily that God will remove our trials, but that He will deliver us one way or another.

And isn’t this our experience thus far? Hasn’t God proven Himself to us over and over? O that we might learn to have confidence in the face of chains and enemies because we know that God is watching out for us!

Lord, teach me to trust You. I cannot afford to be anxious. There is too much to do that cannot be done if I am anxious. There are too many people to love whom I can’t love if I am anxious. I need to be bold, Lord, and I can’t be bold if I am worried. And Your people need an example of a trusting man like Paul was to the Philippians. Forgive me for how slow I am to trust You. You have been entirely faithful to me for 27 years, and even before that. You have never let me down. You have always given me what I needed, and then some! You deserve my trust! Forgive me for all the lost opportunities to build up the faith of others, because I was anxious. Help me to face this day and every day in the unshakable confidence that You are on Your throne in heaven and that You are working out all things for my good, no matter how things seem from an earthly perspective. Father, forgive me for rejoicing only in past deliverances. Make me a man who rejoices in future deliverances.