Saint Augustine repeatedly warned his flock not to build on sand, meaning not to think life was going to be easy once a person became a Christian. Faith doesn’t magically make all of life’s challenges disappear. Instead, faith enables us to know and to see that with every challenge and every temptation God provides the grace and the strength necessary to endure.

Let us beg St. Paul in these unsettled days to pray for peace in the land he once walked, and to intercede in a mighty way for those who are now as he once was.

Perhaps it’s as simple as this: God can be trusted. He is our Father, and not an absent or abusive Father but a good Father. Because He is a good Father, He will supply for all our needs.

Lest we think the Christian message is all rainbows and unicorns, it’s worth reminding ourselves where Paul is as he writes these words to the Church in Philippi. He’s in prison.