“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Philippians 1:20
Paul is often see as a very strong man of God. He always appeared as being bold and absolutely sure of himself in Christ Jesus. While he was this way, he also knew that there was also the possibility of not always serving God in the way he should. Yet, he did not focus on the negative possibility, he chose to expect to not be ashamed of Christ in anyway and that Christ would be lifted up through him.
There are many people who believe in Jesus. They go to church every Sunday and read their Bible and pray on a regular basis, yet, will not speak up to a non-Christian friend or a stranger about Jesus. They are often afraid to stand up against sinful acts that are being encouraged and promoted. There are also many Christians who know that they will fail to speak up about Jesus.
The world does not really care if you believe in Jesus. What they do care about is if you try to get someone else to believe in Jesus. When a person starts speaking about Jesus and His being the only way into heaven, the world gets upset and does not like that type of talk.
Your focus should be one that says you will not be ashamed of Jesus, and then to expect things to happen that way. You must know that God will give you the strength and courage needed to be His witness. You must allow Christ Jesus to be exalted, lifted up, honored in your life. This is in your life whether you live or die. If your death will bring about more people to believe in Jesus, you must be willing to allow it to happen according to God’s will.
Who is most important in your life? Yourself? Or God?
God will give you the courage to be His witness, if you will allow Him to do so. Expect and live in the hope of that courage and strength today.
I pray today that you will focus your life on living for Jesus; that you will not be ashamed of Jesus; that Jesus will be exalted in your life; and that God will draw many to Jesus through you.
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