Actually... God works in unexpected ways

Sometimes I expect that God will work in particular ways or places - through great plans I make or at times when things are going well. But as I look back over the past year, I can see God working in a lot of other ways as well - in my life and in the lives of those around me. God doesn't just seem to be working in the amazing moments in life, but also in the hard places, the difficult times, the circumstances where it can be hard to "see" him.

The apostle Paul discovered God's work in strange places when he was in prison in Rome. From there, he wrote these words to the church in Philippi:

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.     Philippians 1.12-14 (emphasis mine)

"Actually" is a pretty significant word in this passage. Even though Paul was in prison, living in chains, God was still doing amazing things - and this is pretty surprising, even to Paul! In Paul’s words, the fact that he is chained up in prison “actually served to advance the gospel.” It seems as though he was not expecting it to do so. At the very least, this would not have been the course he would have plotted for the advance of the gospel. And yet, in the midst of unplanned circumstances without a great strategy, the gospel is going forward. Not that Paul wasn’t strategic in his thinking and going about his business, but he was able to allow space for the Holy Spirit to work and to not be so focused on his strategy that he missed the work God was doing apart from it!

This is one example, I think, of keeping in step with the Holy Spirit - living in tune with the Spirit's guidance in the midst of life. Paul certainly got what that was about as he celebrated the good work God was continuing to do even as he sat in a cell. For me, I hope that I can see God’s leading and work in the midst of circumstances that may otherwise blind me to what God is doing!