February 10, 2026 • 14 mins
Welcome to a special scripture-focused bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast, where we do a deep dive on the book of Philippians with Nate Pickowicz, the pastor of Harvest Bible Church. Nate walks us through the context of Philippians, and the life of the author—the apostle Paul—revealing how when we turn to God in the middle of our fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, we can find joy and peace that transcends our circumstances.
Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Interview Quotes:
“Paul is writing from a very personal experience, sort of an authoritative experience. He’s in prison writing about joy, this is something very near and dear to his heart.” - Nate Pickowicz
“Even though [Paul’s] uncomfortable, even though he’s probably not where he wants to be, he’s not happy about where he is in prison, he has this transcendent view of his suffering that actually gives hope and gives an element of joy, because he knows that the gospel of Jesus Christ is going out because of that.” - Nate Pickowicz
“Regardless of our circumstances, not only can we find joy in the midst of trouble, we can actually find a purpose for our suffering that God is using to accomplish His end.” - Nate Pickowicz
“Paul connects these two worlds: he connects the experience of anxiety and worry and fear about the future, and he pairs it with thanksgiving and contentment and rejoicing.” - Nate Pickowicz
“Once you recognize that everything that’s good comes from God, suddenly you realize that, If I’m anxious or worried, what might I need from the Lord? I can actually just turn to Him.” - Nate Pickowicz
“Learning to become thankful becomes an antidote to anxiety and worry and fear and discontent. Being grateful to God for what He’s given changes the entire focus of our hearts.” - Nate Pickowicz
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:08):
Life Audio. Did you know that Jesus Calling has its
own YouTube channel. It's full of great content that will
enhance your spiritual life. You'll find beautiful videos with short
devotional moments to help you through your day, as well
as stories on video from celebrities, authors, pastors, and everyday
people who share what their faith journey has meant to them.
(00:29):
You'll also find that Jesus Listens Stories of Prayer series
hosted by Susie McIntyre Eaton, featuring new guests monthly. Subscribe
today for new videos each week.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Paul recognize that if I'm going to receive anything from
the Lord, it's going to be because of his goodness
to me. And even in prison, Paul knew he could
trust the Lord for whatever he needed there, and so
there's a lesson to be learned for us there to
be grateful, to be thankful to God for what we have,
and also to be hopeful and thankful for what we
need in the future.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Welcome to a special scripture focused bonus episode of the
Jesus Calling Podcast. For this episode, we look at the
Book of Philippians with Nate Piowitz, the pastor of Harvest
Bible Church. Nate walks us through the context of Philippians
and the life of the author the Apostle Paul, revealing
how when we can turn to God in the middle
(01:22):
of our fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, we can find joy
and peace that transcends our circumstances.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Well, I'm Nate Picowitz. I'm the pastor of Harvest Bible
Church in Gilminton Ironworks in Hampshire up in the Boonies.
I'm a writer. I'm also a dad, a husband, and
a father of three kids. So the Lord's blessed me
with the opportunity to minister, obviously to my family, but
also to the church, and it's a joy to be
able to do ministry. My own walk with spiritual depression
(01:53):
began pretty early in my life. I can remember being
school age eight, nine, ten years old and struggling with
bouts of anxiety. I was just a very anxious kid,
to the point I'd have to go to the nurse's
office and lay down and take a deep breath because
I was just so anxious. So it followed me for
as long as I can remember, and even into my
adult years, just always battling the anxiety and the worry
(02:16):
and the fear and even just feeling downcast. And really,
when I became a Christian in my early twenties, began
to read the Bible, and I realized that God has
a lot to say about the things I was feeling.
The Apostle Paul deals with the issue of anxiousness and
fear and worry. There's actually a pretty famous passage that
comes to us in Philippians, chapter four, verses six and seven,
(02:37):
and he talks about a person who is struggling with
that anxiety, a worry about the future, or worry about circumstances.
And I remember Paul's in prison right now in Rome,
and he has every reason earthly wise to be worried
about his circumstances. But he says in chapter four, verse
six and seven, he says, be anxious for nothing, but
in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
(02:57):
request be made known to God. He says, in the
peace of God, which surpasses all comprehensions, shall guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So Paul connects
these two worlds. He connects the experience of anxiety and
wordy and fear about the future, and he pairs it
with thanksgiving and contentment and rejoicing. And so there is
(03:19):
this notion here that anxiety worry exists because we don't
know if we're going to have what we need for
the future. We're concerned about our circumstance, we're concerned about provision.
Jesus addresses this in Matthew chapter six, but he says, ultimately,
our source of help comes from the Lord, and so
recognizing that everything we have that's good comes from God,
(03:40):
he's able to give us abundantly more than we could
ever ask or think. So once you recognize that everything
that's good comes from God, suddenly you realize that if
I'm anxious or worried about what i might need from
the Lord, I can actually just turn to him, and
in turning to him actually doing to be thankful, he'd
be grateful for what He's given to me. Because in
the end, because of the fallenness of our nature, because
(04:02):
of our sinful hearts, we don't actually deserve anything good.
And yet God is gracious and gives us what is good,
and the greatest gift he's given us, obviously is Christ.
And so learning to become thankful that becomes an antidote
to anxiety and worry and fear and discontent. Being grateful
to God for what He's given it changes the entire
(04:24):
focus of our heart. So I was encouraged to know, like,
not only can I go to him, not only can
I find refuge and solace in him, but he says
that I'll give you peace, I'll give you rest. And
so this has been a journey, probably about twenty years
of just seeking the Lord, trying to understand why I
feel the way that I feel, why I wrestle the
way that I do, and try to find some hope
(04:46):
and some help. In the midst of all of that,
Paul recognized that if I'm going to receive anything from
the Lord, It's going to be because of his goodness
to me. And even in prison, Paul knew he could
trust the Lord for whatever he needed there, and so
he was grateful, even in the midst of obstacles and
difficult circumstances, he was grateful to God for what he received.
And so there's a lesson to be learned for us
(05:08):
there as well, to be grateful, to be thankful to
God for what we have, and also to be hopeful
and thankful for what we need. In the future. When
we consider the life in the ministry of the Apostle Paul,
we have to remember that he was a Jewish pharisee.
He was a rabbi, he was a student learning the
Word of God. He was a pharisee of all pharisees.
(05:31):
He lists his accomplishments in chapter three of his letter
to the Philippians, and so in the midst of all
of that, he's actually zealous to persecute the Church of
God because he believes in his tradition that that's correct.
He believes that Christianity is a movement against Judaism, it's
against the truth. And so he goes out on a
pilgrimage to try to persecute and destroy the Church of
(05:53):
Jesus Christ. And along the way, in Acts chapter nine,
we actually read that he is knocked off his horse,
and then the Lord appears to him, and he's converted
because he actually sees the risen Christ, and the Lord
correct semi says, you know you're persecuting me by persecuting
the Church. And then Paul gets turned all the way around.
His heart changes, his mind changes, and he begins to
(06:15):
be zealous for the things of Christ. And so now
he's traveling from region to region, city to city, sharing
the gospel. He's also planting churches. The church in Philippi
was one of the churches that he was instrumental in planting.
And so when we consider where he is now, now
he's actually a prisoner of the gospel because he's making
pretty large claims about who Jesus is. Where in the
(06:38):
Roman Empire that Caesar is considered to be lord of
all things, Paul is saying, actually, no, Jesus is Lord.
And they didn't want to hear that. The Jews didn't
want to hear about Christ. And so Paul has only
enemies in front of him as he's ministering this gospel.
And now he's taking his stand for Christ, and he's
writing to churches who also need to be encouraged in
(06:59):
the things of God. And so that's his life ministry
is to proclaim Christ, to know him, and to give
his life for the sake of the Gospel.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Stay tuned for more on the Book of Philippians with
Nate Pickowitz. After a brief message, these uncertain times bring
anxiety and fear, but Jesus listens prayers for every season
gives you daily prayers of comfort with seasonally inspired illustrations.
This beautiful book includes prayers that speak to your situation,
(07:28):
whether it's a time of stress or strength. Look for
Jesus Listens prayers for every season wherever you buy books.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
The Book of Philippians is written by the apostle Paul,
and we call it a prison epistle. He most likely
wrote this while he was imprisoned in Rome for his faith.
We don't know if it's a house arrest or if
it's actually in a dungeon somewhere, but regardless of the circumstance,
he is in prison. He's writing this letter to the
church in Philippi, trying to encourage them in their faith.
(08:01):
There's a point in which he talks in the beginning
of the book about his aim being known throughout the
entire Praytonian Guard, and then toward the end of the
book he talks about actually praying for those who are
in Caesar's household. So we think that Paul actually made
some converts in the household of Caesar and was very
pleased to be able to bring the gospel that far.
(08:22):
And as we talk about bringing an element of joy
rejoicing in the Lord in the midst of all circumstances.
And so Paul is writing from a very personal experience,
sort of an authoritative experience. He's in prison, writing about joy.
So this is something very near and dear to his heart.
We realize that there's an overarching theme of joy. We
have to see the contrast between Paul's circumstances being imprisoned
(08:46):
and being persecuted for his faith, and then also the
joy of the Lord that the experience is while there.
And so we see that the circumstances actually tying together
pretty in an amazing way. He says at one point
in Philippians one twenty one, he says, for to me,
to live as Christ and to die is gain. He
frames his entire life and ministry and even his existence
(09:08):
around that purpose, being in Christ and serving the Lord.
And he actually says toward the beginning of the letter,
he says that my circumstances have turned out for the
greater progress of the Gospel. So Paul is framing his
own suffering, his own situation of being in prison for
his faith as a benefit, as a boon, And he
says in chapter one, verses twelve through fourteen, he actually
(09:31):
talks about how those in the church that were made
aware of his imprisonment, they actually have more courage now
because of his circumstances. They're emboldened by his imprisonment, he says,
they have more courage to speak the Word of God
without fear. So it's an interesting perspective that Paul presents
to us where even though he's uncomfortable, even though he's
(09:53):
probably not where he wants to be in himself, he's
not happy about where he is in prison, and yet
he has a transcendent view of his suffering, a view
of his imprisonment that actually gives hope and gives an
element of joy because he knows that the Gospel of
Jesus Christ is going out. Because of that, he's able
(10:13):
to evangelize the guards that are there in the prison
with him. He's able to get the Gospel even into
Caesar's household. And so Paul is sort of this evangelistic
mole now being brought into the prison, working for the
Lord no matter where he is. And so there is
an overarching lesson to us that regardless of our circumstances,
(10:33):
not only can we find joy in the midst of trouble,
that we can actually find a purpose for our suffering,
and a purpose that God is using the suffering for
to accomplish his end. Paul uses in verse six. Here
this notion of prayer in supplication. What is prayer? Prayer
(10:54):
is talking to God, certainly, but it's more than just
talking to God. It's not telling God any new information. Rather,
you're expressing your needs and your longings and even your repentance,
send your hope for the future, your prayers for other people.
You're presenting your heart and your life to God in submission,
and He hears us and he answers according to his will.
(11:16):
The Lord Jesus tells us to ask and it shall
be given to you. Again, this isn't well wishing. It's
not a Laddin's lamp where you just ask the Lord
for wonderful things and he gives you abundantly because you've asked.
But rather you're seeking to receive from the Lord what
you need. And so supplication, you're asking either for yourself
or you're asking on behalf of other people. This notion
(11:37):
of prayer and supplication. We can go to our heavenly
Father and we can ask him in humility, and again
he does answer. These requests according to his will, He's
more than gracious to give to his people for those
who ask. I think for the person who's struggling to
experience peace, especially in light of what the apostle Paul
talks about in Philippians. I mean, certainly, there's always things
(11:59):
we can be doing to pray, to seek the Lord,
and experience some measure or practical comfort. But I think
at the very core of all of that, all the prescriptions,
all the Bible verses, all the truths, that we can
consider the fundamental truth. For every believer who is seeking peace,
not just with Gods through salvation, but the peace of God,
(12:20):
who is struggling to find that peace, I think we
have to look to Philippians chapter three, because that's where
Paul goes. Paul he considers everything in his life. He
considers his spiritual accomplishments, he considers his imprisonment, he considers
everything he has, and at one point he says, I
consider all things as lost. He says, the word rubbish,
which is garbage. He goes everything else in my life
(12:42):
in comparison to knowing Christ is garbage, he says. However,
he goes the grand pursuit The whole goal of his life,
he says, is to know Christ. He says, all these things,
he says, everything else is lost in comparison or in
considering the surpassing value of knowing Christ, Jesus my Lord,
(13:05):
and he says, there's a desire to know him, to
know the fellowship of his sufferings, he goes, to know
the power of his resurrection. I think that has to
be are what I like to call the transcendent obsession,
that we realize that we need to know Jesus more
and more and more to become acquainted with his words,
his works, the sufferings of the Cross, the power of
(13:27):
his resurrection, conquering death, conquering sin. The more that we
know Christ, we can actually experience greater measures of peace
of God. We can experience victory over sin, we can
experience joy and gladness. I think that becomes the ultimate goal,
is to know Jesus Christ. And I think that really
is the key to understanding and experiencing the peace and
(13:50):
the joy that you're seeking.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Thank you for listening to the special scripture focused bonus episode.
To learn more about Nate, follow him on social media
and be sure to check out his book Overcoming the Darkness,
Biblical Help for spiritual depression of at your favorite retailer.
To discover more inspiring stories of people making a positive impact,
visit Jesus Calling dot com slash podcast. Thanks for listening
(14:20):
to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast on the
Life Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring you stories from
people who share their journeys of faith and how prayer
and a relationship with God transformed their lives. Be sure
to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you
listen to podcasts, and leave us a review so others
(14:40):
can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally,
you can find encouragement resources and more on the Jesus
Calling website at Jesus Calling dot com
Life Audio. Did you know that Jesus Calling has its
own YouTube channel. It's full of great content that will
enhance your spiritual life. You'll find beautiful videos with short
devotional moments to help you through your day, as well
as stories on video from celebrities, authors, pastors, and everyday
people who share what their faith journey has meant to them.
(00:29):
You'll also find that Jesus Listens Stories of Prayer series
hosted by Susie McIntyre Eaton, featuring new guests monthly. Subscribe
today for new videos each week.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Paul recognize that if I'm going to receive anything from
the Lord, it's going to be because of his goodness
to me. And even in prison, Paul knew he could
trust the Lord for whatever he needed there, and so
there's a lesson to be learned for us there to
be grateful, to be thankful to God for what we have,
and also to be hopeful and thankful for what we
need in the future.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Welcome to a special scripture focused bonus episode of the
Jesus Calling Podcast. For this episode, we look at the
Book of Philippians with Nate Piowitz, the pastor of Harvest
Bible Church. Nate walks us through the context of Philippians
and the life of the author the Apostle Paul, revealing
how when we can turn to God in the middle
(01:22):
of our fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, we can find joy
and peace that transcends our circumstances.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Well, I'm Nate Picowitz. I'm the pastor of Harvest Bible
Church in Gilminton Ironworks in Hampshire up in the Boonies.
I'm a writer. I'm also a dad, a husband, and
a father of three kids. So the Lord's blessed me
with the opportunity to minister, obviously to my family, but
also to the church, and it's a joy to be
able to do ministry. My own walk with spiritual depression
(01:53):
began pretty early in my life. I can remember being
school age eight, nine, ten years old and struggling with
bouts of anxiety. I was just a very anxious kid,
to the point I'd have to go to the nurse's
office and lay down and take a deep breath because
I was just so anxious. So it followed me for
as long as I can remember, and even into my
adult years, just always battling the anxiety and the worry
(02:16):
and the fear and even just feeling downcast. And really,
when I became a Christian in my early twenties, began
to read the Bible, and I realized that God has
a lot to say about the things I was feeling.
The Apostle Paul deals with the issue of anxiousness and
fear and worry. There's actually a pretty famous passage that
comes to us in Philippians, chapter four, verses six and seven,
(02:37):
and he talks about a person who is struggling with
that anxiety, a worry about the future, or worry about circumstances.
And I remember Paul's in prison right now in Rome,
and he has every reason earthly wise to be worried
about his circumstances. But he says in chapter four, verse
six and seven, he says, be anxious for nothing, but
in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
(02:57):
request be made known to God. He says, in the
peace of God, which surpasses all comprehensions, shall guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So Paul connects
these two worlds. He connects the experience of anxiety and
wordy and fear about the future, and he pairs it
with thanksgiving and contentment and rejoicing. And so there is
(03:19):
this notion here that anxiety worry exists because we don't
know if we're going to have what we need for
the future. We're concerned about our circumstance, we're concerned about provision.
Jesus addresses this in Matthew chapter six, but he says, ultimately,
our source of help comes from the Lord, and so
recognizing that everything we have that's good comes from God,
(03:40):
he's able to give us abundantly more than we could
ever ask or think. So once you recognize that everything
that's good comes from God, suddenly you realize that if
I'm anxious or worried about what i might need from
the Lord, I can actually just turn to him, and
in turning to him actually doing to be thankful, he'd
be grateful for what He's given to me. Because in
the end, because of the fallenness of our nature, because
(04:02):
of our sinful hearts, we don't actually deserve anything good.
And yet God is gracious and gives us what is good,
and the greatest gift he's given us, obviously is Christ.
And so learning to become thankful that becomes an antidote
to anxiety and worry and fear and discontent. Being grateful
to God for what He's given it changes the entire
(04:24):
focus of our heart. So I was encouraged to know, like,
not only can I go to him, not only can
I find refuge and solace in him, but he says
that I'll give you peace, I'll give you rest. And
so this has been a journey, probably about twenty years
of just seeking the Lord, trying to understand why I
feel the way that I feel, why I wrestle the
way that I do, and try to find some hope
(04:46):
and some help. In the midst of all of that,
Paul recognized that if I'm going to receive anything from
the Lord, It's going to be because of his goodness
to me. And even in prison, Paul knew he could
trust the Lord for whatever he needed there, and so
he was grateful, even in the midst of obstacles and
difficult circumstances, he was grateful to God for what he received.
And so there's a lesson to be learned for us
(05:08):
there as well, to be grateful, to be thankful to
God for what we have, and also to be hopeful
and thankful for what we need. In the future. When
we consider the life in the ministry of the Apostle Paul,
we have to remember that he was a Jewish pharisee.
He was a rabbi, he was a student learning the
Word of God. He was a pharisee of all pharisees.
(05:31):
He lists his accomplishments in chapter three of his letter
to the Philippians, and so in the midst of all
of that, he's actually zealous to persecute the Church of
God because he believes in his tradition that that's correct.
He believes that Christianity is a movement against Judaism, it's
against the truth. And so he goes out on a
pilgrimage to try to persecute and destroy the Church of
(05:53):
Jesus Christ. And along the way, in Acts chapter nine,
we actually read that he is knocked off his horse,
and then the Lord appears to him, and he's converted
because he actually sees the risen Christ, and the Lord
correct semi says, you know you're persecuting me by persecuting
the Church. And then Paul gets turned all the way around.
His heart changes, his mind changes, and he begins to
(06:15):
be zealous for the things of Christ. And so now
he's traveling from region to region, city to city, sharing
the gospel. He's also planting churches. The church in Philippi
was one of the churches that he was instrumental in planting.
And so when we consider where he is now, now
he's actually a prisoner of the gospel because he's making
pretty large claims about who Jesus is. Where in the
(06:38):
Roman Empire that Caesar is considered to be lord of
all things, Paul is saying, actually, no, Jesus is Lord.
And they didn't want to hear that. The Jews didn't
want to hear about Christ. And so Paul has only
enemies in front of him as he's ministering this gospel.
And now he's taking his stand for Christ, and he's
writing to churches who also need to be encouraged in
(06:59):
the things of God. And so that's his life ministry
is to proclaim Christ, to know him, and to give
his life for the sake of the Gospel.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Stay tuned for more on the Book of Philippians with
Nate Pickowitz. After a brief message, these uncertain times bring
anxiety and fear, but Jesus listens prayers for every season
gives you daily prayers of comfort with seasonally inspired illustrations.
This beautiful book includes prayers that speak to your situation,
(07:28):
whether it's a time of stress or strength. Look for
Jesus Listens prayers for every season wherever you buy books.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
The Book of Philippians is written by the apostle Paul,
and we call it a prison epistle. He most likely
wrote this while he was imprisoned in Rome for his faith.
We don't know if it's a house arrest or if
it's actually in a dungeon somewhere, but regardless of the circumstance,
he is in prison. He's writing this letter to the
church in Philippi, trying to encourage them in their faith.
(08:01):
There's a point in which he talks in the beginning
of the book about his aim being known throughout the
entire Praytonian Guard, and then toward the end of the
book he talks about actually praying for those who are
in Caesar's household. So we think that Paul actually made
some converts in the household of Caesar and was very
pleased to be able to bring the gospel that far.
(08:22):
And as we talk about bringing an element of joy
rejoicing in the Lord in the midst of all circumstances.
And so Paul is writing from a very personal experience,
sort of an authoritative experience. He's in prison, writing about joy.
So this is something very near and dear to his heart.
We realize that there's an overarching theme of joy. We
have to see the contrast between Paul's circumstances being imprisoned
(08:46):
and being persecuted for his faith, and then also the
joy of the Lord that the experience is while there.
And so we see that the circumstances actually tying together
pretty in an amazing way. He says at one point
in Philippians one twenty one, he says, for to me,
to live as Christ and to die is gain. He
frames his entire life and ministry and even his existence
(09:08):
around that purpose, being in Christ and serving the Lord.
And he actually says toward the beginning of the letter,
he says that my circumstances have turned out for the
greater progress of the Gospel. So Paul is framing his
own suffering, his own situation of being in prison for
his faith as a benefit, as a boon, And he
says in chapter one, verses twelve through fourteen, he actually
(09:31):
talks about how those in the church that were made
aware of his imprisonment, they actually have more courage now
because of his circumstances. They're emboldened by his imprisonment, he says,
they have more courage to speak the Word of God
without fear. So it's an interesting perspective that Paul presents
to us where even though he's uncomfortable, even though he's
(09:53):
probably not where he wants to be in himself, he's
not happy about where he is in prison, and yet
he has a transcendent view of his suffering, a view
of his imprisonment that actually gives hope and gives an
element of joy because he knows that the Gospel of
Jesus Christ is going out. Because of that, he's able
(10:13):
to evangelize the guards that are there in the prison
with him. He's able to get the Gospel even into
Caesar's household. And so Paul is sort of this evangelistic
mole now being brought into the prison, working for the
Lord no matter where he is. And so there is
an overarching lesson to us that regardless of our circumstances,
(10:33):
not only can we find joy in the midst of trouble,
that we can actually find a purpose for our suffering,
and a purpose that God is using the suffering for
to accomplish his end. Paul uses in verse six. Here
this notion of prayer in supplication. What is prayer? Prayer
(10:54):
is talking to God, certainly, but it's more than just
talking to God. It's not telling God any new information. Rather,
you're expressing your needs and your longings and even your repentance,
send your hope for the future, your prayers for other people.
You're presenting your heart and your life to God in submission,
and He hears us and he answers according to his will.
(11:16):
The Lord Jesus tells us to ask and it shall
be given to you. Again, this isn't well wishing. It's
not a Laddin's lamp where you just ask the Lord
for wonderful things and he gives you abundantly because you've asked.
But rather you're seeking to receive from the Lord what
you need. And so supplication, you're asking either for yourself
or you're asking on behalf of other people. This notion
(11:37):
of prayer and supplication. We can go to our heavenly
Father and we can ask him in humility, and again
he does answer. These requests according to his will, He's
more than gracious to give to his people for those
who ask. I think for the person who's struggling to
experience peace, especially in light of what the apostle Paul
talks about in Philippians. I mean, certainly, there's always things
(11:59):
we can be doing to pray, to seek the Lord,
and experience some measure or practical comfort. But I think
at the very core of all of that, all the prescriptions,
all the Bible verses, all the truths, that we can
consider the fundamental truth. For every believer who is seeking peace,
not just with Gods through salvation, but the peace of God,
(12:20):
who is struggling to find that peace, I think we
have to look to Philippians chapter three, because that's where
Paul goes. Paul he considers everything in his life. He
considers his spiritual accomplishments, he considers his imprisonment, he considers
everything he has, and at one point he says, I
consider all things as lost. He says, the word rubbish,
which is garbage. He goes everything else in my life
(12:42):
in comparison to knowing Christ is garbage, he says. However,
he goes the grand pursuit The whole goal of his life,
he says, is to know Christ. He says, all these things,
he says, everything else is lost in comparison or in
considering the surpassing value of knowing Christ, Jesus my Lord,
(13:05):
and he says, there's a desire to know him, to
know the fellowship of his sufferings, he goes, to know
the power of his resurrection. I think that has to
be are what I like to call the transcendent obsession,
that we realize that we need to know Jesus more
and more and more to become acquainted with his words,
his works, the sufferings of the Cross, the power of
(13:27):
his resurrection, conquering death, conquering sin. The more that we
know Christ, we can actually experience greater measures of peace
of God. We can experience victory over sin, we can
experience joy and gladness. I think that becomes the ultimate goal,
is to know Jesus Christ. And I think that really
is the key to understanding and experiencing the peace and
(13:50):
the joy that you're seeking.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Thank you for listening to the special scripture focused bonus episode.
To learn more about Nate, follow him on social media
and be sure to check out his book Overcoming the Darkness,
Biblical Help for spiritual depression of at your favorite retailer.
To discover more inspiring stories of people making a positive impact,
visit Jesus Calling dot com slash podcast. Thanks for listening
(14:20):
to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast on the
Life Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring you stories from
people who share their journeys of faith and how prayer
and a relationship with God transformed their lives. Be sure
to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you
listen to podcasts, and leave us a review so others
(14:40):
can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally,
you can find encouragement resources and more on the Jesus
Calling website at Jesus Calling dot com
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