How do you see yourself?

“When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles . . . 2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. 3 As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. 4 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.”
Ephesians 3:1-4 New Living Translation (NLT)
 
Paul is writing to the Ephesians from prison in Rome, and yet he doesn’t call himself a prisoner of Rome, or Caesar, he called Himself a “prisoner of Christ Jesus.” Paul chose to see his circumstances differently and as a result, his experience of it was very different from what many of us would have experienced if we had been imprisoned for our faith. Paul didn’t see prison as a dead-end but as an opportunity to minister by writing letters to believers in order to encourage and strengthen them in the faith, and he saw it as an all-expense-paid trip to Rome to witness to the Caesar and his entire house (Philippians 1:13).
 
“So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called tofulfill his designed purpose.”
Romans 8:28 The Passion Translation (TPT)
 
God does not cause all things in our lives. The Bible shows us that Jesus brings abundant life while the enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10) and that we should submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7). We choose who we submit to and if we’ll submit to God, He can work all things together for our good and His glory no matter how bad things get. God can weave every negative thing in our lives together to fit into His good and glorious plans. With God, whatever tests we face can be turned into testimonies.
 
Paul chose not to look at his circumstances and give any glory to the devil by talking about how the devil was attacking him; instead, he submitted himself to God who can work all things together for our good, and Paul took advantage of the opportunity to spread the gospel wherever he went and however he could. Other people were probably looking at Paul and feeling sorry for him because they saw him as a prisoner of Rome. If Paul had held the same view he probably would have been depressed, fearful and I doubt that he would have written any powerful letters to anyone, and he wouldn’t have been bold enough to witness to others (especially the household of Caesar). Paul saw himself as a prisoner of Christ and his view of himself resulted in a fruitful prison ministry.
 
Paul could be victorious in negative circumstances because he chose to see things differently. Likewise, when we choose to see things differently, and especially how we see ourselves, then our actions and the way we respond to negative circumstances will change. Instead of being dominated by circumstances and what happens to us, we will start to rise above circumstances and live as victors, not victims.