For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

2:24   and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

In our last post, we saw that Paul was considering his own circumstances in the light of benefitting others, specifically as to when he would send Timothy away from his presence. Consider that in sending Timothy to the Philippians, he would suffer the loss of his closest confidant.

Yet Paul was the ever hopeful apostle, for he trusts that he too will come to visit the Philippians, to see his dearly loved church. He was anticipating a quick resolution to this restraint he was experiencing – which many understand to have stretched out to two years of delay! Yet if his imprisonment lasted two years and if the letter was written early in this period, Paul had time ahead to wait on the Lord. Thus the important phrase Paul uses to allow for God’s will to override his own will.

This is another theme that recurs over and over again in Paul’s writings, and is a great reminder for us as believers today. Though we may have hopes and plans for the future, these plans always need to be under the authority of the Lord.

To say “in the Lord” in this verse may also be understood as “if God allows”, or “as the Lord directs”. Nothing is written in stone for Paul, as even in his planning, he is pliable to the will of God. He makes plans in efforts to provide ministry to the Lord, yet does not presume he has it all under control. At this point in Paul’s life, he is understanding the mysterious ways of the Lord – that is that God wanted him imprisoned in order to further the gospel!

That is so against my thinking. Would not Paul’s freedom produce the greatest benefits, more church plants, a further distribution of the gospel, greater use of his last few years? It seems the Lord had other plans and Paul had learned that though plans are good and are to be made, the Lord’s will is the overarching action that shall, if necessary, overrule our plans, hopes and dreams.

This is a hard truth for myself, and maybe for you also. We have plans that may have been carefully developed, with many resources and much effort directed to an end, yet in the midst of all our plans, we need to always remember the Lord’s will is to be submitted to.

In that submission, we shouldn’t consider submitting to His will out of a reluctant, “it’s inevitable” stance, but reflecting on Paul’s experience, see that His will produced much greater impact on the future of the church than a few more church plants or a few more chapters in the book of Acts. The letters written through this “delay” in Paul’s ministry have carried on through two millennium, impacting souls that Paul could not have reached.

His will is not only for His good, but for our benefit, even if it seems difficult or “disruptive” to our plans for the present time!

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