Philippians 1:29-30

Today's 2 verses finish off chapter 1 of Philippians. Some of Paul’s choice of words interests me. My NLT says we’ve been given the privilege of trusting in Christ and suffering for Him. The Greek word Paul used was privilegium which is defined as, “a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed by a particular person or a restricted group of people beyond the advantages of most.”

I'm totally cool with thinking about the privilege to trust in Christ. It’s a benefit of being a Christ follower. But I don’t know about if I’d call suffering FOR Him a privilege. Would you? I guess if you compare all that He did/does for us, we SHOULD be ok suffering for Him.

There is suffering because we are Christians so the enemy attacks, then there is personal suffering like from a government. Thankfully, here in the USA we don't have a huge problem with that. Our freedoms allow us to worship Jesus freely. Other countries aren’t as blessed.

I love the first sentence in verse 30! We are all in this struggle together! Que the cheesy High School Musicial song in your head, “We’re all in this together.” Sorry! But it's true. We should NOT struggle alone. The enemy wants you to, but you should have someone you trust that you can be open and vulnerable with. If he can get you isolated, a lot of really bad things can happen to you. We NEED each other for encouragement and prayer!