See Part One, where we covered how Israel missed entering into God’s rest, and that there was a Rest available to us as believers.
The Secret of Being Content
Philippians 4:10-13 NASB 10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Picture Acts 16:22-30, Paul and Silas are imprisoned, beaten, and thrown into the dungeon in stocks. They are sore, and in a miserable place. They were put there not for some crime, but because they cast a demon out of a girl.
Most people would be griping and complaining, or wondering whether they had missed God in coming to that city. Not Paul and Silas. At midnight, in that dark, dank place, and in pain, they sing hymns and praises to God. And God responded with a supernatural earthquake that opened the prison doors and loosed their chains. And even then they didn’t run away, but stayed and ministered to the jailer, and that was the beginning of the church at Philippi.
Paul says he had learned the secret of being content no matter what circumstances he was in. A secret is something that is hidden from the general public, and known to a few individuals. The Bible has things it calls “mysteries”, which have a similar meaning. The Bible’s mysteries or secrets are not hidden from us, but for us. But the answer is not in plain sight; it requires some seeking to be found. Paul says it is something he learned.
We can even see evidence in Paul of before and after he learned this “secret”. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Paul describes his “infirmities” – the afflictions he went through while preaching the gospel. He ends with this statement:
2 Corinthians 11:28 KJV 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
Some of the modern translations render it as “deep concern”, but the word care in this verse is that same merimna that we are told to cast on the Lord in 1 Peter 5:7. So, apparently at the time of the writing of 2 Corinthians, which is estimated to be around 55 or 56 A.D., Paul hadn’t fully learned the secret of being content in all his circumstances.
Phillipians was written from jail, around 61 A.D., and by then he had learned the secret – including being able to roll the care of the churches over onto the Lord.
Having your contentment – your sense of joy and well being – independent of your circumstances is something you have to train yourself to do. It stems from having a complete love for and trust in God, to the point where your life really doesn’t matter. Paul expressed this when he said “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phillipians 1:21).
Rejoice Always
The secret can be found in Phillipians 4:4-9:
Philippians 4:4-9 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things.
9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 3:1 1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 16 Rejoice always,
17 pray without ceasing,
18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
God’s desire is for us to always be full of joy. Joy is an inward state, happiness is due to outward circumstances.
James 1:2-4 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Does God want us to be masochistic, enjoying things that are painful and try us? No. The word translated “count it” is an accounting term. Many translations say “consider it”:
James 1:2 NLT 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
Trying circumstances are not joyful in themselves, but we should consider them an opportunity to rejoice. Rejoicing is something we do on purpose as an act of our will. Sometimes you won’t feel like it, and have to do it by faith. But time and time I’ve experienced where you start out rejoicing and thanking and praising as a sacrifice, and a supernatural joy come ups out of your spirit and changes the way you feel.
Smith Wigglesworth used to say, “I always start out in the flesh and end up in the Spirit.” He also said, “I never ask Smith Wigglesworth how he feels. I tell him how he feels.”
Have a Forbearing Spirit
Philippians 4:5 AMP 5 Let all men know and perceive and recognize your unselfishness (your considerateness, your forbearing spirit). The Lord is near [He is coming soon].
Forbear means to restrain oneself or avoid doing, usually in reference to avoiding retaliation for a wrong done to you.
Don’t be a “reactor”. The way you react to a stressful situation can make it worse, or defuse it. Realize that people are not your real problem (Ephesians 6:12).
Proverbs 15:1 1 A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Also in Phillipians 4:5, “the Lord is near”. Being aware of God’s presence with you always is very helpful in not being upset by circumstances.
Be Anxious for Nothing
Phillipians 4:6 says “Be anxious for nothing”, or “Don’t worry about anything”. “But isn’t a little worry healthy?” No, absolutely not. The Bible is clear that we should not fret, worry, or have anxiety about anything.
You are perhaps confusing care with concern. Care, as in the cares of this world from the parable of the sower, means mental anguish, a burdened state of mind over circumstances. We are not to have care, or worry and anxiety, because it is a form of fear, and is brought about by a lack of trust in God.
However, that does not mean that we ignore circumstances. We still have to give attention to the things that need it. We can still be concerned about things.
1 Peter 5:6-7 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
We can cast our care – our mental anguish or burdened state of mind (Greek mirimna) – on Him, because He cares for us. That doesn’t mean that God is in mental anguish or a burdened state of mind over us, it is a different word in the Greek: melo, which literally means “it matters to Him concerning you”.
Matthew 6:25-34 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
This passage warns against getting into anxiety about your daily needs. It talks about food and shelter; these days we could substitute “paying your bills”. Vs. 27, worry does not produce any positive results; it does nothing to help change the circumstances for the better. It will in fact help change them for the worse.
Vs. 32, Worrying, and seeking (i.e. making it a main goal or priority) material provision is a characteristic of how the world thinks and acts. But we have a Heavenly Father who takes care of us. Therefore we can we can utilize our energies for more important things.
Matthew 6:31 KJV 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
I like how the KJV is worded here; instead of “do not worry” it says “take no thought”. That is how worry and anxiety comes to us, it comes in thoughts: it hashes the circumstances over and over again, then says “what are you going to do?”
Thoughts can and will come into your head, but they do not get a root in you until you take them. How do you take a thought? By saying it. When you start to vocalize your worries and anxieties, then you are taking them and making them your own.
If someone standing next to you says something that you hear, it will register in your brain as a thought. But it is not your thought, it is their thought, unless you start agreeing with it. If you agree with it, eventually it will come out your mouth.
Prayer and Thanksgiving
But the Bible doesn’t just say, “don’t worry”. It tells us what we should do instead.
Philippians 4:6 AMP 6 Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.
The first thing: make your requests known to God. What do you want Him to do? Don’t get into a long harangue about your problems. God already knows what is going on; you only have to mention them. We are to let our requests – our desires and wants – made known to God. We should pray the solution not the problem.
The second element: with thanksgiving. Our prayer should be accompanied with thanksgiving. We don’t give thanks for the problem, we give Him thanks for the solution. We thank Him for what He has done in the past, we thank Him for the promises in His word, we thank Him for hearing our prayer, and answering our requests.
“But doesn’t the Bible say to give thanks for all things?” The verse you are thinking of is Ephesians 5:20:
Ephesians 5:18-21 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
I know that it has been taught that we are to give thanks for all things, even bad circumstances. Back in the 70’s I remember in particular a book called Walking and Leaping by Merlin Carothers. He taught that you should thank God for everything that happens to you. And he had outstanding miracles of deliverance in his life. But one thing I also noticed in his book – he was always expecting that deliverance to come, he expected God to come in and change circumstances. He had faith.
Vs. 20 says giving thanks always for all things to God. We are to give thanks to God for the things that God is doing. Why would we give thanks to God for something the devil is doing? That makes no sense. If I came to you and said, “Thank you for dumping that load of trash in my front yard”, would you accept that thanks? Would you say, “you’re welcome?” No, because you didn’t do it.
Jesus said “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s”. I want to take that same idea and say, give thanks to God for the things that God has done, is doing, and will do. We are to give thanks in every situation, but we are to give thanks to God only for those things for which He is responsible.
The Results
Vs. 7, the peace of God, which surpasses understanding – there may be no logical reason for it since the circumstances haven’t changed yet – shall mount a guard over our hearts and minds against further anxiety.
Our subject is entering into God’s rest. A big part of that rest is peace of mind. The storms of life may be crashing around us, but inside we are calm and at peace.
What to do with thoughts
Philippians 4:8 NIV 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.
It’s not good enough to just empty your mind of anxious thoughts. They need to be replaced by positive things.
How you think and believe has a tremendous impact on your behavior and performance. You can change your performance by changing your thinking patterns. The world understands this. You can succeed when you believe you can. If you don’t believe you can win, you are already defeated.
“That sounds like positive thinking”. You’re absolutely right, it is. Did you know that it came from the Bible? The original title for Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of Positive Thinking was to be “The Power of Positive Confession of God’s Word”. The secular publisher convinced Rev. Peale that he would reach a larger audience if he just changed the title.
The principle of positive thinking works to some extent even when you secularize it, i.e., take God out of it. Why? Because it is a characteristic of man’s psychological makeup, and God invented man’s psychology. We were created to visualize goals on the inside, believe we could achieve them, then go after them. Man would be that way even if there was never a Fall. We will be that way in heaven and in eternity. It’s how we were created to operate.
Satan has perverted this principle in man – you can call it the power of negative thinking. Fear, worry, and anxiety are all designed to bring about failure in our lives. It is one of the greatest tools that Satan uses to be able to steal, kill, and destroy us. Like the roaring lion, he is seeking whom he may devour. Don’t let it be you – resist him, steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:8).
Don’t Faint
Anxiety and fear attacks come in through the mind; the “what if’s”, or painting the most negative picture of what could happen. If dwelt upon, it can make your heart faint, or give up hope and confidence, and give in to despair. This is what defeated the Israelites before they ever set foot in the promised land. They were not defeated by the Canaanites in battle, they were defeated in their minds: “we were like grasshoppers in our sight”.
A faint heart is often associated with growing weary. I.e., you may have started well, but as time goes on and there is continued pressure or opposition, you get tired.
Numbers 21:4 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
Discouragement and fainting in the heart comes because you see no way out, there is no end in sight – you’ve lost sight of reaching the goal.
Isaiah 40:29-31 KJV 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Hebrews 12:2-3 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Rest in your souls
What do you need when you grow tired and weary? Rest!
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Instead of “do not lose heart”, the KJV says “we faint not”. Fainting in the heart and discouragement is an inward weariness and giving up, as opposed to an outward physical weariness. It is actually more dangerous. You can overcome physical weariness by taking a break and resting. Inward weariness and fainting can cause you to give up forever. It can even be lethal.
A key to being at rest and having peace in your soul is what you are focusing on. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says “while we do not look at the things that are seen…” That means anything perceived by the physical senses, like your circumstances. These things are temporal, which means subject to change. Instead we are to focus on the things that are not seen, which are eternal – they won’t change. These are things like God’s word, which will never pass away, the leading of the Spirit, etc.
Here is another way we can have rest:
Isaiah 28:11-12 11 For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said, “This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest,” And, “This is the refreshing”; Yet they would not hear.
Many Bible teachers believe these verses also refer to speaking in tongues and praying in the Spirit. Praying in the Spirit can bring you a refreshing by increasing your sensitivity to spiritual things. It will aid you in looking at the eternal things rather than the temporal.
Rest Equals Victory
We’ve talked a lot about having rest in our souls – being at peace internally even in the midst of battle and storms externally. But is the rest we are supposed to be enjoying only an internal matter? What about actually having peace in our circumstances? Must we always be fighting?
To carry on our analogy with Israel taking the promised land, there did come a time when they had driven out the inhabitants and were able to concentrate on settling in. They did not have to fight anymore because their work was finished, and so they had rest on every side.
We will not have rest on every side – no more battles – until we get to heaven. That is the ultimate rest. But even while they were still taking the promised land, the Israelites were not battling and fighting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They had pockets of rest after they won battles. Their victories gave them rest.
The Bible has a lot to say about winning and victory that can also be applied to our lives down here, and not just the great by and by. Christians as a whole have not seen that.
Always
2 Corinthians 2:14 14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
The reference here alludes to a Roman practice called the Triumph, where the conquering Roman army returned home and marched in a procession through the streets to the cheers of the people. The generals would be in front, then the officers, then the army itself, followed by the prisoners – the vanquished foes. Jesus of course is our General who is at the head of the procession, but we are the officers and soldiers that are led by Him in the victory march.
Notice the use of the word always. He always leads us in triumph. The KJV says He always causes us to triumph.
2 Corinthians 2:14 MSG 14 And I got it, thank God! In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance.
I like how the Message Bible reads – he leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade.
The Psalm of Victory
Psalm 34 is a tremendous psalm of victory. It speaks of being delivered out of all your troubles, over and over again.
Psalms 34:1-22 1I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger; But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Who is the man who desires life, And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
Vs. 4, He delivers me from all the things I am afraid of.
Vs. 6, the poor man is saved out of all his troubles. That has to be financial troubles.
Vs. 7, the angel of the Lord is encamped around us to deliver us. Hebrews 1:14 tells that angels are ministering spirits who are sent to minister in behalf of those that inherit salvation.
Vs. 8, Taste and see – experience for yourself – that the Lord is good. In the Bible, the Lord being “good” is inextricable from His doing “good” for His people.
Vs. 9 and 10, just in case you though that vs. 6 did not apply to finances, David says here that there is no want (or lack, need), and no lack of any good thing.
Vs. 12 is a description of a good life – to see good and see many days. Didn’t Jesus say He came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10)? And just in case you think that only applies to spiritual things, what about the thief? Did He only come to steal from us, kill us, or destroy us spiritually? Or does he try to do those things in the natural also? In any area that the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, Jesus comes to bring abundant (more than enough, to the fullest) life.
Vs. 17, when we pray, He hears, and delivers us out of all our troubles.
Vs. 19, we go through many things – we have many afflictions. But the Lord will deliver us out of them all.
Deliverance does not mean that you have no trouble. On the contrary, deliverance means you are in trouble, and the Lord gets you out.
- Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were thrown into the fiery furnace, but they came out without even the smell of smoke on them. Daniel 3.
- Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den, but the angel shut the lions’ mouths. Daniel 6.
- Joseph was sold into slavery, falsely accused of sexual harassment, and thrown into prison. He ended up becoming second in command of all Egypt and brought deliverance from famine to his family. Genesis 37-45.
- Israel was trapped between the chariots of Egypt and the sea, but God made them a path through the sea and their enemies were all drowned. Exodus 14.
- The crowd was dragging Jesus to the brow of a hill to throw Him off a cliff, but He just “walked through their midst”. Luke 4:28-30.
- Paul and Silas were beaten, and thrown into the stocks in prison, but God sent a supernatural earthquake that released their bonds. Acts 16.
- Peter was under the sentence of death, but an angel came and released him. Acts 12.
- Paul was stoned, but rose up alive. Acts 14.
- Paul was shipwrecked, but the lives of everyone on the ship were spared. He was bit by a poisonous snake, but shook it off into the fire and was unharmed. He ended up praying for the father of an official, and a revival broke out on the island where he was shipwrecked. Acts 27-28.
- Tradition says they tried to boil the apostle John in oil, and he wouldn’t die, so they banished him to Patmos – and there he received the Revelation.
More victory
Here are some more scriptures on victory and deliverance:
1 Corinthians 15:57 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:17 AMP 17 For if because of one man’s trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive [God’s] overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness [putting them into right standing with Himself] reign as kings in life through the one Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
John 16:33 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
“In the world you shall have tribulation…” Many people stop right there and say, “Well, I’m scriptural, bless God. I’ve been tribulating all week!” But Jesus went on to tell us to be of good cheer, be encouraged, for He has overcome the world. “Well, that’s all well and good that Jesus has overcome the world. I mean, He was the Son of God. But what about us?”
1 John 5:4-5 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith.
5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
If you are born of God, then you have overcome the world, even as Jesus has.
Psalms 91:1-16 1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
Victory is Conditional
Victory, winning, and deliverance are not automatic. It is conditional. As in almost every promise of God, there is a part for God to play, and a part for us to play.
What is our part? Expectation. We need to expect to win. We should have a confidence that we will be delivered.
Paul had this expectation as a prisoner in Rome. The first two years of his imprisonment were relatively unrestricted – he was basically under house arrest in his own rented home (see Acts 28:30-31). After that, there was a political change and Paul was transferred to a more secure prison attached to the barracks in the Roman garrison. The original captain to whom Paul had been handed over to had died, and emperor Nero had divorced his wife and married a woman who was a Jewish proselyte. As a result, Roman attitudes towards Christians chilled, and towards Paul in particular. His fate became less certain.
Paul speaks of his fate as a prison in Phil 1.
Philippians 1:19-26 19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.
23 For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith,
26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
Notice that Paul believed that he had the power to decide whether he would remain on this earth, not the Romans. His personal choice was to die and go to be with the Lord, but he recognized that he had more work to do, and so was confident that he would remain.
Contrast this with 2 Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:6-8 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
What was the difference? At the time of the writing of the letter to the Philippians, Paul had not yet completed his work. At the time of the second letter to Timothy, he had, and so he was ready to “check out”. Paul was beheaded by the order of Nero somewhere around A.D. 64.
Paul’s whole imprisonment in Rome was God’s plan for him. And it was not a surprise to Paul, or something that happened to him and afterwards he decided it must have been God’s will. The Holy Spirit warned him ahead of time what was to come, on several occasions.
Acts 20:22-24 22 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,
23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.
24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
Paul finished his race and completed his ministry. His life was not taken from him, he gave it up – he chose the time.
