Torn Between Two Good Things
Daily Scripture
Philippians 1:21-26
Because for me, living serves Christ and dying is even better. If I continue to live in this world, I get results from my work. But I don’t know what I prefer. I’m torn between the two because I want to leave this life and be with Christ, which is far better. However, it’s more important for me to stay in this world for your sake. I’m sure of this: I will stay alive and remain with all of you to help your progress and the joy of your faith, and to increase your pride in Christ Jesus through my presence when I visit you again.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Here Paul says something most of us don’t expect from someone facing possible execution. He doesn’t know what he wants. Not because he’s afraid to admit he’s scared to die, and not because he’s given up on living. He genuinely can’t decide, because both outcomes look good to him. Staying alive means more years of work he loves, doing something he believes matters. Dying means going to be with Christ, which he flatly calls the better option. Both options pull at him for good reasons, which is a different kind of hard than choosing between something he wants and something he dreads.
Many people facing this kind of tension pick a side quickly, deciding to be grateful for life or ready for death, and move on from there. Adam Hamilton, writing about this same passage, points out that Paul isn’t presenting a problem to be solved. He’s naming a tension he trusts God with.* He wants heaven. He loves the Philippians enough to be glad either way it goes. That kind of peace doesn’t come from picking a side. It comes from trusting the God who holds both.
Paul doesn’t solve his tension by deciding. He solves it by trusting that either answer leads somewhere good, and that trust is what frees him to leave the question open instead of forcing it shut. Most of us want the plan settled before we can rest. Paul’s peace didn’t wait for that. It was already there before he’d made up his mind.
- Paul isn’t torn between something good and something bad. He’s torn between two things that are both genuinely good. Think of a time you felt torn like this, not because your options were unclear, but because more than one path actually seemed right. What did that tension teach you about trusting God before you ever reached a decision?
- Paul’s peace didn’t come from knowing the answer. It came from trusting God with whichever answer came. Name one area of your life where you’re waiting on clarity before you’ll let yourself feel at peace. What would it look like to seek the peace first, before the clarity arrives?
Prayer
Lord, thank you that you don’t require me to have every answer before you’ll give me peace. Forgive me for treating uncertainty like a problem I have to solve on my own timeline. Give me Paul’s freedom to hold two good options loosely, trusting that you’re at work in either outcome. Where I’m stuck right now, help me rest in you rather than forcing a decision before I’m ready. Amen.
GPS Insights
Lisa Wilt
Lisa Wilt is a small-town gal with God-sized dreams…a former pharmacist who once dispensed meds but now dispenses encouragement by pairing beloved scriptures with fresh (often hilarious) stories through my books, speaking, daily radio ministry and podcast. And…I’m a new Gigi to Elijah, a proud mama to Alyssa, Garrett and Robert and a forever wife to David.
What did you want to be when you grew up? What path did you picture for yourself, and what path did God gently unfold instead?
Today’s readings and questions took me back to high school, when I stood at the crossroads trying to choose between two careers. My dad wanted me to become a pharmacist, while my heart leaned toward writing. English was the one class where I felt confident, but my dad encouraged me to choose a more practical path.
Though Dad never had a college degree, he offered to help pay for mine, saying, “Pharmacy, that’s a good job. All you have to do is count pills. You’ll be warm in the winter and cool in the summer.” He never had a good job though he always had multiple jobs.
At eighteen, I had no idea where life would take me, but I had a good earthly father and a good Heavenly Father; I trusted both. My dad reminded me that I could always write as a hobby, so writing became a kind of prayer journal, a way to trace what God was teaching me along the way. Even if you didn’t have the blessing of a trustworthy earthly father, you do have a trustworthy Heavenly Father! He’s beside you just as He was beside Paul in today’s reading. While you and I may not face life-and-death choices like Paul, we face choices that shape each step.
Choosing between rest and responsibility can feel like a tug-of-war. We wake up tired. We could push through and tackle the to-do list, or we could honor our bodies and rest. Both choices are good. Our faith in this tension teaches us to ask, “Lord, what is the next right step for this moment?”
Balancing family needs and ministry opportunities brings its own kind of strain. We want to serve at church, but our families need us too. Neither option is wrong. Trust grows when we say, “God, I trust you with the opportunities. Lead me.”
Health challenges can quietly weigh us down. Waiting on test results or treatment plans can make peace feel out of reach. Yet peace comes from saying, “God, we don’t know the outcome, but we know You’ll walk with us through it.”
Financial uncertainty can add another layer. We wait for clarity before we stop worrying, but peace doesn’t come from having every detail settled. Peace comes from dedicating the day to God and praying, “Show us the next right step, and we’ll trust You with the rest.”
Together as a church family, we watched Pastor Adam navigate two good choices: to run for senate or to remain our full-time pastor. Adam has given us a beautiful example of how to kneel before we step. Each morning he kneels beside his bed and prays, “Lord, this day is Yours. Lead me in the next right step.” His example has shaped my own mornings. This likely has shaped yours too.
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