3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.
Gratitude becomes the Christian, and so it is true of the apostle Paul. He considered it a high privilege to be a servant of the Lord. At another time, he wrote to his co-author Timothy (vs. 1), “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service…” (1 Tim 1:12). But, blessing upon blessing, he saw good fruit in the Philippians, and this is cause for greater thanks to God. Serving is a grace from God, and seeing results is also a grace. Think of Jeremiah who was called to serve, but would not see the desired result: “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you” (Jer 7:27). A true servant of God faithfully serves, and leaves the results to God—and is thankful for the privilege of serving even if results are not obvious.
Whereas with the Corinthians Paul was thankful for the grace given to them (1 Cor 1:4), in the case of the Philippians he was thankful for their consistent and faithful participation in the gospel. He was doubly grateful. It is true that we are to be appreciative in all things (Eph 5:20), but for some things we can be more so.
Such joy is a good reward considering what Paul went through in serving God and His people. He suffered many beatings, stonings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, hunger, fatigue, sleepless nights, discouragement, etc. (2 Cor 11:25). It has been said that the greater one suffers for something, the great he appreciates what he suffered for. So true for the apostle!
So the Philippians were a highlight of Paul’s ministry. His letter to them reveals very little in the way of rebuke or admonishment. Primarily he encouraged them to higher living, building on what they were already doing well. This is reflected in his opening prayer, for every thought of the Philippians was saturated with joy and gratitude.
Notice the implication of this. Paul doesn’t see the good results in the Philippians as a credit to himself, otherwise there would be no basis for thankfulness. Rather, his gratitude speaks to the acknowledgement that God was at work in the Philippians (see for example the next verse, 1:6). Grace and gratitude are interchangeably intertwined.
Lord, help me to grow in my understanding and appreciation of Your grace in my life, so that I will have a heart of thankfulness.
Amen! really hit the spot today, as i see a lot on my plate in the coming weeks! Thanks!