When you have a big picture goal, setbacks are viewed differently, because you're always looking through a lens towards the big picture, and any setback can be framed in light of the larger journey.
For example, if your only goal is to get through today, then anything bad that happens today will be devastating. However, if your goal is to get through the week, then you have six other chances to succeed. A one day setback is small. If your goal is to get through the year, then one day out of 365 is very minor.
What if your goal is to live forever with Jesus Christ, and that Christ, through his atoning death on the cross, has secured that goal already on your behalf, even though you could not do it on your own? Then small setbacks, or even large setbacks, would seem minor, knowing that you exist on the plane of eternity and will dwell forever in a place of eternal light and joy, without the presence of sin.
Paul has mastered that mindset. He is in jail, but he has alighted on the possibility to proclaim the Gospel to the imperial guard and spread the Gospel in the prison. Because he sees the end goal with such clarity, he is able to endure any challenge.
Friends, you and I will endure challenges. If not today or this week, then this year or decade. I can assure you of that. (Never, ever forget that bad things that happen are not a sign of the absence of God's love or a judgment upon you. Bad things happen because bad things happen. God still loves you and abides with you in the midst of them.) Keep your eyes fixed upon the larger goal of life with Christ, and look for opportunities in the midst of challenges. How you treat one another in the midst of suffering is an opportunity to proclaim the love of Christ. Remembering that our earthly suffering is but a blink of an eye over the scale of our existence can help us endure, can help us proclaim Christ in the midst of life, and can help us find deep-seated joy that nothing can take from us.
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