Please read these verses in your own Bible or online at Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+1%3A+12-14&version=NIV The notes are mine.
v 12 Paul takes the long view, seeing what happens to him through God’s eyes. (What has happened to him? Arrest, 2-year imprisonment, 4 trials. An appeal to Caesar (his right as a Roman citizen) sends him through a storm at sea, a shipwreck and a venomous snake bite. See Acts 21-28)
Of course, he has known from the start that there would be suffering (Acts 9:15-16); he is not outside of God’s will. The Gospel is being advanced: 1) it was during this time that Paul wrote Ephesians and Colossians, as well as this letter, and 2) at Rome’s expense, Paul has traveled to places and people he might never had access to if not for “what has happened to me.”
v 13 There were 9,000 men in the palace guard. They took 4-hour shifts guarding Paul. He had, as it were, a captive audience for his story.
Most everyone would hear his story, and Jesus was its center.
v 14 Paul’s joy, his trust in God’s care, and the fact that God was using him even in prison gave many Christians the courage to speak out.
Lord, I get so caught up in my own discomfort that I often miss the big picture: You are always at work in and around me. But looking back I can see that I was often not very usable. Did I discourage anyone through my bad example? Thank You for Paul’s good example. Give me the eyes to see, the courage to act and the words to say. For Your sake. Amen