Philippians 1:18-21

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

I think it safe to say that these are some of the most difficult times ever faced for a lot of generations. As a Gen Xer, I know my generation has never seen such difficult times as these. The news seems to be getting worse every day, and every hopeful sign turns out to be a house of cards.

People have lost jobs at a historic rate and have lost confidence in everything that they had once thought was sure. Some have even lost confidence in God.

As I talk to the unemployed and listen to their stories and try to help them as best as I can, I notice a consistent theme. They are looking for words of hope. They are looking for words of confidence and assurance that things are getting better.

If you are a Christian, the problem with that attitude is that you're putting your confidence in the things of this world. Our confidence and our trust should be in Christ and in His working in our lives through all circumstances. We are to look to Him and He will get us through—no matter how dire the apparent circumstances may seem, Jesus is still on His throne.

So, you may ask, how is it that Christians lose confidence in God? It is an unfortunately simple answer: They have never had a very close relationship with God and don’t know Him very well. It is difficult to trust someone we don’t know well.

For many Christians in this country, this is the first time they have faced real hardship and have been put in a situation where the only way out is through God’s divine providence. We are not used to being in the position of having to fully depend on God, and for some it is revealing to them the shallowness or depth of their relationship with God.

Believe it or not, even in these times we have choice. We have to choose to battle against our flesh and the worries of this world, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus (Colossians 2:8). I love what Paul says in Philippians 1:18-21. Although in a really difficult situation, imprisoned in the Philippian jail, Paul makes a choice. He chooses to rejoice and put his confidence in Christ to get him through.

Also notice that he turns to the church for prayer and support. He is ultimately more concerned about how he is representing Jesus than his overall circumstances. How did he gain this type of confidence? By having a deep, constant and abiding relationship with Jesus. Sometimes we have to trust God’s promises over His providences.

Paul gives us more insight into rejoicing in difficult times in 2 Corinthians 6:10 where he wrote, “as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing yet possessing everything.” That mindset of Paul is as much challenging as it is encouraging.

As Christians, Jesus is ever before us. He has made us rich and, in that richness, we possess everything—everything that counts, that is. Not your big screen TV, not your house, not your job—not anything of this world. He has made salvation available to us and in that gospel message is all the hope you will ever need (Romans 8:35-39).

Nick Reddin is a Regional Director for Manpower in Des Moines. For more from Nick you can visit his blog at www.WorkExposedBlog.com.