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World Wide Christians
Identified by Our Location Continued From pg . 7
thought God had called me to do for the rest of my life . Through all of this , one thing that I ’ ve found to be true is that when we are in the valley , our relationship with Christ becomes more real . We have to learn to trust him in the valley because He is all that we have . While he was sitting in prison , the only thing that Paul had was Christ . But as Paul found out , Christ was all that he really needed . No matter the circumstances that we may find ourselves in , Christ is all that we need . We must not be identified by our condition , but by our location in Christ .
Paul knew that some people would love to heap more insult and pain on him and take advantage of his circumstances . He says in verses 15-17 , “ 15 Some , to be sure , are preaching Christ even from envy and strife , but some also from good will ; 16 the latter do it out of love , knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel ; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives , thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment .” We find that in our own lives as well . People want to kick us when we are down , or we find that bad situations tend to get worse with no end in sight .
Paul has a word of encouragement for us in light of these circumstances , in verses 18-20 , “ 18 What then ? Only that in every way , whether in pretense or in truth , Christ is proclaimed ; and in this I rejoice . Yes , and I will rejoice , 19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ , 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope , that I will not be put to shame in anything , but that with all boldness , Christ will even now , as always , be exalted in my body , whether by life or by death .”
Finding a way to rejoice in the valley is hard , but when our focus is on how we can best glorify Christ , it becomes easy because He is our strength .