God is not hindered
By Elizabeth Prata
Paul wrote 4 epistles while he was in jail, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. Paul was in chains but he exulted that the Gospel was not chained.
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).
God is not hindered by the circumstance of Paul’s imprisonment. In fact, God causes or allows everything to occur on the earth, so Paul being in chains was part of His plan. Paul knew the Gospel well enough to know this, and he exulted in Jesus and His Gospel and was humbly confident in the Lord he could be used. Paul’s confidence spread to others,
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. (Philippians 1:14).
The Gospel goes out to whomever the Lord determines it to go out to, whether an individual or a group, tribe, or nation.
What else is God not hindered by?
God is not hindered by someone’s lack of eloquence. 2 Corinthians 11:6, Exodus 4:10.
God is not hindered by someone’s imprisonment. Acts 12:10, Philippians 1:14.
God is not hindered by distances. Paul’s letters reached their destinations whether close by or far afield. (Romans 16:1). So did John’s Revelation even though he was exiled on an island rock.
God is not hindered by poverty. Paul commended the severely impoverished Macedonian church for giving liberally out of their extreme poverty. 2 Corinthians 8:1-4.
God is not hindered by lack of education. Acts 4:13
No matter where you are, who you are, how rich or poor, educated or uneducated, God can and will use you. Pray to Him and ask to be used. It doesn’t matter if it is a great way like Moses and Paul, or a small way invisible or unknown- God knows. His glory is our chief end, and to enjoy Him. What a privilege to be used by God for His glory! Us! Meager and pitiful humans, stumbling along, yet used to further His plan and purpose!
Paul’s amazement and joy over this fairly leaps off the pages of the Bible. Asking to be used, and being used, glorifies God.
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
1 Cor. 10:31; Rom. 11:36; Ps. 73:25-28.
HOW do we enjoy God? See these two paragraphs from this church blog
Norman Maclean, in his autobiographical work, A River Runs Through It, shared a memory of his childhood as it pertained to this question. “In between on Sunday afternoons we had to study The Westminster Shorter Catechism for an hour and then recite before we could walk the hills with my father while he unwound between services. But he never asked us more than the first question in the catechism, “What is the chief end of man?” And we answered together so one of us could carry on if the other forgot, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” This always seemed to satisfy him, as indeed such a beautiful answer should have.”
Indeed, it is a beautiful statement. It reminds us of what we were created to do, and that there is true enjoyment in doing it. God, the author and creator of life, created us to worship him, to glorify him in all things! But there is more here. By glorifying God, we find that we actually enjoy him. We find fellowship and communion with our heavenly Father that is eternal in scope. This is our true contentment! Being created to glorify God doesn’t just benefit God (not that God could be enriched or benefit from us!). No, rather, we find that we, the created finite beings, are the ones who benefit infinitely.
http://proclamationpca.com/blog/2015/1/9/westminster-shorter-catechism-qa-1
God is not hindered. Have full confidence in Him, even if you do not have full confidence in yourself!
