Charles Stanley Daily Devotional 25th March 2025 (In Touch) Message
TOPIC: Living Above Circumstances
SCRIPTURE: Philippians 1:12-18
While under house arrest, Paul could receive visitors but wasn’t allowed to travel. Despite living in a home, he was more than likely chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day. The apostle knew these were his living conditions for the foreseeable future—perhaps for the rest of his life.
Under such circumstances, Paul might have been tempted to pursue every possible channel and press for release. After all, God had called him to preach, to disciple believers, and to reach the Gentiles. But he was stuck in Rome, unable to plant new churches or visit those whom he was nurturing by letter.
Surely, if anyone had a right to gripe, it was the apostle, who’d endured persecution, shipwreck, and beatings for the gospel. Yet the letter he wrote while imprisoned—to the church at Philippi—is filled with rejoicing. From Philippians 4:8, we see Paul knew that focusing on God is the way to live above one’s circumstances.
The more we talk and complain about a situation, the worse it looks, until the problem looms larger in our mind than our faith does. Conversely, carrying challenges straight to God keeps matters in perspective. The Lord is bigger than any hardship.
Problems can distort our perspective. God invites us to live above our circumstances by fastening our eyes upon Him.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 7-9
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: You can experience joy in the midst of difficulty because God is bigger than any challenge you face.
Dr. Charles F. Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. Throughout his ministry, he demonstrated a keen awareness of people’s needs and provided Christ-centered biblically based principles for everyday life.