Philippians 4:4: Verse of the Week

Verse of the Week 

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" - Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord

Turn Your Miracle into Mission: Finding Joy After Survival

Two hundred forty-one of 242 souls perished when Air India Flight 171 burst into flames on impact just thirty seconds after takeoff on June 12, 2025. But one man—Viswash Ramesh—walked out of that inferno nearly unscathed. A miracle that echoes a story in the Book of Daniel, where three friends escape the fiery furnace, except this survivor's brother was among the casualties.

I wonder if Viswash feels trapped now, not by flames but by guilt. The prison of "Why me? Why not him?" can be more confining than any concrete cell. We see survivor guilt in many populations, including veterans. But the Apostle Paul wrote these words of rejoicing to the believers in Philippi from an actual prison cell with chains around his wrists.

Paul understood something profound: our rescue—whether from literal fire or spiritual flames—isn't meant to imprison us with guilt but to propel us into God’s meaning and purpose. Every believer is a "soul survivor," snatched from the fire of eternal separation, spared when countless others perish in darkness.

The question isn't why we survived. The question is, what now? What will we do with our post-miracle survival when the old “me” is gone and the new “me” is here? 

Ramesh could hide behind survivor's guilt, paralyzed by his miracle. Or he could honor his brother's memory by living boldly, knowing he was spared for something greater. Similarly, we who've been rescued from hell's fire can either make excuses or make our lives count. We have a choice.

Philippians 4:4: Verse of the Week

Paul's command to "rejoice always" isn't a denial of pain and suffering—it's defiance of despair. It's choosing gratitude over guilt, mission and meaning over misery. When we truly grasp that we've been snatched from flames we deserved, joy becomes our response, and service becomes our purpose.

Viktor Frankl, from the horrors of surviving the concentration camps and losing most of his family, including his young wife, offered a simple, yet profound, equation:

S - M = D: Suffering without Meaning Equals Despair

Your miracle—whether dramatic rescue or quiet salvation—was never meant to be wasted on despair. Turn your rescue into your reason, your reason to discover God's meaning and purpose for your life. Let gratitude fuel your action, not guilt fuel inaction.

This Week's Challenge: Identify one way your spiritual rescue can serve others. Don't hide behind the "why me?" prison—step through the narrow gate that your miracle opened. As our sole survivor explained, there was a small door that was open in front of me…I just walked out.