Exclamation Point Days!
“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, . . . ”
(Philippians 1: 12 NASB)
Circumstances Appear in all Shapes, at Unfortunate Times, & for Everyone because no one is exempt from—LIFE.
Consider the circumstances:
- We show up to work as usual, and learn that the company is downsizing, which inevitably means—we lost our job!
- We go to school to pick up the kids as usual, and learn that our precious child has acted badly, so repulsively, which means—our child has been suspended for three days!
- We go to the doctor for a routine check-up, one where tests are run, and we continue our life as usual until the receptionist calls informing us that the doctor has scheduled a follow-up consultation, which really means—something with our health is really wrong!
- We leave the house for the day, fully expecting to return home (as usual when our day is spent) only to encounter an automobile wreck—changing our life forever!
- We share time with our good friend, our co-worker, our sibling, our sister-in-Christ, only to learn—God needs us down on our knees, interceding, as we lift her and this circumstance up to our LORD in prayer!
Exclamation Point Days!
- We experience them.
- We encounter them.
- We face them almost every day we live IF we are mindfully aware of others.
- We sense the enormity they bring.
- We oftentimes shy-away from facing them, even though we should not.
- We see them penciled on our calendars in the form of future appointments.
- We meet them in all types of locations.
- We do not welcome these days into our “sweet, calm life,” & seriously, we even dread them.
NEVERTHELESS—When an “Exclamation Point Day” Arrives, we know what we must commit ourselves to do.
“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
(Philippians 1: 12-14 NASB)
so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else,
and that most of the brothers and sisters, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”
No one is exempt from “Exclamation Point Days.”
- Everyone who walks topsoil on the earth will face difficult days, some more than others.
- All of God’s creation will encounter challenging days, maybe even today.
- People are always watching the way Believers in Christ walk through life.
Therefore, for those who have received the gift of God’s salvation, “much is required.”
We know this to be true because the Bible tells us how to those who have received this precious gift, much is required.
- Our Words & Our Behavior must reflect Christ to the world surrounding us!
- Our Responses & Our Love for others must reflect our Savior to those we encounter!
- Our Pause from our day of busyness may be exactly why God awoke us today!
- Our Testimony & Our Reaction to others who are walking through an “Exclamation Point Day” may just be the door of opportunity given to us to share Jesus with an unbeliever!
Thus,
Whether WE are the one who encounters the tough circumstance today—OR
Whether ANOTHER one faces a situation today that just cannot be walked alone, a child of God who has received God’s gift of salvation should ask himself this question:
“What then?
(Philippians 1: 18-21 NASB)
Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth,
Christ is proclaimed,
and in this I rejoice.
But not only that, I also will rejoice,
for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
according to my eager expectation and hope,
that I will not be put to shame in anything,
but that with all boldness,
Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body,
whether by life or by death.
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”