Colossians 4:2-18
God can use you in spite of your circumstances
At times, we are distracted by many ‘if onlys’. If only we were married. If only we were not married to the wrong person. If only we were in the right job. If only we didn’t have to go to work. If only we had children. If only we didn’t have so many children. If only we lived in the right place… But God used Paul in spite of his circumstances, and even because of them!
Paul writes, ‘Make the most of every opportunity’ (v.5, MSG). We cannot all be ‘successful’ but we can all do our best in whatever situation we find ourselves. Paul writes that they are to tell Archippus, ‘Do your best in the job you received from the Master. Do your very best’ (v.17, MSG).
Paul was extraordinarily gifted. He had a vital message to proclaim to the world. He might have expected that God would place him in a position of authority and power so that he could best use his gifts and proclaim his message.
However, God allowed him to end up in prison. He ends the letter, ‘Remember I am still in prison and in chains’ (v.18, AMP). Yet the Lord was glorified in his apparent defeat. God turned Paul’s situation upside down. Almost 2,000 years later you are still reading the words Paul wrote while in prison. God used his words to change the world.
Your words are powerful. Paul writes, ‘Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you]’ (v.6, AMP). For example, if you are hosting on Alpha, pray for wisdom to know when to speak, what to say and how to say it.
God also used Paul’s prayers to change the world. Here is another challenge to our priorities. He writes, ‘Devote yourselves to prayer’ (v.2). The world considers prayer a complete waste of time. Paul saw it as the highest priority of our lives. He commends Epaphras because he is ‘always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured’ (v.12).
He wants his readers to pray that ‘God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should’ (vv.3–4).
Here is yet another challenge to our priorities. Paul does not want them to pray for large crowds to come and hear him – rather he prays that he may proclaim the message clearly.
Paul doesn’t want them to pray for an open door to the prison, but an open door for the message of the gospel to be proclaimed. Rather than looking to the future when you might be in a better situation in which to serve God, focus on how you can serve God in the present, whatever your situation.
Lord, help me to get my priorities right – to devote myself to prayer and proclamation whatever my circumstances. Give me wisdom today to know when to speak, what to say and how to say it.