The power at work in the life of Joseph is what you need in order to get past this hurt. It is the power that was present in Paul when he said in Galatians 2, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
It is what Paul is getting at in our text from Philippians. By embracing the pain that comes at him as a means of identification with Jesus Christ, Paul moves from victim to victor.
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So pull up a pew and let’s apply God’s Word to this situation. What I shared with the people who came into my office that day is what I want to share with you today as your pastor. For believers hurt by other believers, for loved ones hurt by other loved ones, for anyone feeling like a victim of another person, or maybe just feeling betrayed by life, in order for you to move from victim to victor in dealing with the pain of betrayal or suffering of any kind, three drastic steps must be taken. We see these three drastic steps being taken by Paul, who is in prison as a result of the plotting of his own people (Philippians 3:10-11) and by Joseph, who was mistreated by his own brothers (Genesis 50:19-20).
First, think about what God teaches victims about this from Philippians 3.
“That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).
This is your first step when hurt by another.
Take up Your Cross
This is hard language. Paul cannot go again to the cross to atone for his sins. That is not what he means. He means to say that every sorrow, every act of treachery, every act of betrayal has become, for him, a point of identification with Christ. Through these things he knows resurrection in his life.
Paul is given a cross. His cross is imprisonment. The imprisonment is because of betrayal and treachery of people who should have loved him and encouraged him. In Philippians 1 it is the betrayal and treachery of fellow preachers of the gospel. In Philippians 3 it is the betrayal and treachery and plotting of the Jews. In so many ways we see this man betrayed, and he is now in prison. But Paul will say, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12).