PHILIPPIANS AND STRESS: MAKING THE BEST OF IT--Philippians 1:1-11
***We are beginning today a series on stress. Before we begin, I want to give you a stress test, developed by the American Institute of Stress.
On the screen, we are going to project a picture of two dolphins jumping out of the water. A study at the institute found that although most people see two identical dolphins, people who are under a lot of stress see differences between the two jumpers.
(Project a picture, of a dolphin and a cow jumping out of the water. You might find it by searching on the internet for “dolphin cow jumping.”)
If you see more than one or two differences, you might need a vacation.**
Stress: It’s a part of life. The only ones who never have any stress are found 6 feet under the earth.
Surveys indicate that perceived stress is higher today than a few decades ago. College and university counseling centers report a spike in students having difficulty dealing with anxiety. Medication use is up (which is not always bad), and self-medicating in the form of alcohol or illegal drugs is rampant.
Stress is not always bad. The stress of sports, or facing a challenging task, or helping people solve a problem can be a great experience, while a total lack of stress might be boring or unfulfilling. Yet when our stress level gets too high, it saps our strength, or even overwhelms us.
Sometimes stress is a symptom of life gone bad: unemployment, health issues, destructive relationships, injustice, or conflict. In other times, stress exists more in our minds than in our situation, in the form of worry, fear, or anxiety.
The apostle Paul knew a lot about stress. In 2 Corinthians 11:25-29, he said, “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”
Notice that Paul’s stress was not only physical; his greatest stress was caused by his concern for other people! Maybe you can relate to that, as a parent or grandparent, anxiously asking, “Will the kids be OK?”
In this series on stress, we will be studying Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. When he wrote this letter, he was in prison, probably in Rome, where he spent the last 2 years of his life before his death. He did not know whether he would be freed or executed, and the uncertainty had to be stressful.
Yet in this letter, Paul seems more stressed about the future of the church than his own future. The people in Philippi were living in a pagan culture, where Greeks and Romans would think them strange, and Jews might directly oppose them. Paul himself had been imprisoned in Philippi, because he cast an evil spirit out of a young fortune-telling slave girl who was making money for her masters. He was charged with subverting the good order of the proud Roman city. (The Philippian jail was thrown open by a violent earthquake, and Paul and Silas remained, causing the jailor to ask, “What must I do to be saved.”)
Paul alludes to the stress the Philippian Christians felt from nonbelieving Greeks in Philippians 1:29-30. They also faced opposition from Jews, who pressuring them to be circumcised. Paul was pretty worked up about that, as he said in 3:2, “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.”
Yet a greater source of stress was from inside the church. In chapter 2, Paul addressed the selfish ambition and vain conceit of some in the church. In chapter 4, he is more specific, pleading with 2 women in the church to get on the same page.
Paul had reason for concern, as the church was in danger of losing its focus on Christ. The Philippian church was “his baby,” and his baby was in danger. That, and his personal circumstances, caused stress.
The letter he wrote to the church is a lesson in how to handle stress. It is a letter shaped by a mature faith in Christ, forged in the crucible of challenges and spiritual growth. In the first part of the letter, he takes a gentle approach, encouraging the Christians in Philippi to make the best of their stress.
Read Philippians 1:1-11.
HOW CAN WE MAKE THE BEST OF STRESS?
Notice that I am not asking how to make stress good. Sometimes, it is not good. We want to know how to make the best of stress. In verses 9-11, Paul tells how he prays for good to come out of the stress the Philippian Christians are dealing with. What are the best outcomes from stress?
-MAKE STRESS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE
There are some things that can only be learned by experience. Mark Twain said, “A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.”
Stress can help us understand ourselves and others. It is like the wind blowing over a sand dune, revealing what is hidden underneath. It might reveal anger or insecurity, or a depraved nature that is irritable, unethical, or self-centered. It might expose unresolved issues from the past, or unrecognized fears about the future. It might also reveal hidden beauty and strength.
In verse 9, Paul speaks of love that abounds “in knowledge and depth of insight.” Stress can teach us what love really is. The love of a parent for a child is simple when the baby first appears; it is deeper when the parent is up in the night with a sick child, or confronts a teenager rolling her eyes or getting home late. Love between a husband and wife is not fully known until they deal with their first disagreement, endure a miscarriage or sickness, or talk about their financial priorities.
In verse 10, Paul prays that they will “discern what is best.” Stress can clarify our values. If we are being pulled in too many directions, running all the time, it can be an opportunity to decide what is most important, and what should be eliminated.
Stress can teach us hard lessons about the value of honesty and truth. It can teach us that we can rely only on God, not on our own abilities or wealth. It can teach us that we can’t control everything—especially other people.
Ironically, Paul is not trying to lessen their stress! He is gently urging them to get to the root of the problems in themselves and the church. That might be painful, and cause inner stress. Yet the end result is deeper love, more harmonious relationships, and the joy of pleasing God.
When stress comes, we want to make it a learning experience.
-MAKE STRESS A GROWING EXPERIENCE
Verse 6 describes the experience of every Christian: “He (God) who BEGAN a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” We are continually growing in Christ, and when stress comes, we should try to grow through it.
Stress can challenge superficial faith. You believe it is important to live by godly priorities, and you learn to do that when you have to make difficult choices in your life. You believe in grace and truth, and you learn how to do that when you have to deal with difficult person at work. You want to trust God, and you learn to trust God when the props are knocked away. You want to have strong moral values, and your values are clarified and strengthened when it costs you.
Our faith can grow in stress. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
Character grows through stress. Just as stressing our bodies in exercise makes us stronger, struggles in life can make us stronger.
In Romans 5:3-5, Paul gives his personal testimony: “We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
If you talk to an old saint, whose faith is strong and mature, you will often find that their faith and character grew most in the difficult times of life.
Make stress a growing experience.
-MAKE STRESS A FRUITFUL EXPERIENCE
Really? How can stress be fruitful?
In verse 11, Paul prays that as they learn and grow, they will be “filled with the fruit of righteousness.”
Righteousness rises to the surface in times of stress.
In an ethical dilemma, or financial stress, righteousness bubbles up. Psalm 15:2-4 describes a righteous person as, “The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor…who keeps an oath even when it hurts.”
In a conflict at work, or in the family, humility, grace and truth bear fruit. Forgiveness and insistence on doing what is right change the environment.
In times of stress in the world, when people are seeking only their own protection and benefit, righteousness shines as compassion and justice for all.
When people see how we handle sickness or loss with God’s help, they notice.
That was true for Paul in prison. Read Philippians 1:12-14.
The palace guard never went to church, and they weren’t reading Paul’s “Joyful Christian” blog. They were sitting with Paul, who was under house arrest, day after day. They saw Christ in how he lived under stress.
Unbelievers are not too impressed by how we live when everything is going just fine. They are more likely to see Christ in us when we are going through hard times. Those hard times can be our opportunity to share Christ with others.
The Christians in Rome came to visit Paul, and they were so inspired by how he handled his imprisonment, that they courageously went out to spread the gospel, without fear. His attitude under pressure encouraged them.
Stress doesn’t have to bad, and even stress that arises from bad circumstances can be redeemed. With Christ, we can learn, we can grow, and we shine as lights in the darkness of a stressful life.
