What does Philippians 1:30 mean?

Paul ends this chapter with a note regarding his own suffering. He was arrested in Palestine and appealed to the Roman legal system to escape an assassination attempt. During his sea voyage to Rome, the ship crashed and he and the crew barely escaped. A snake then bit Paul, and he shook it off into a fire. He was eventually brought to Rome, where he had been rejected by many Jews, yet had a powerful ministry to Gentiles despite being under house arrest for two years (Acts 27—28).

Despite all of these past sufferings and his ongoing imprisonment, Paul was still able to preach to many, write letters to encourage believers, and be used of God to help encourage the spread of the gospel. Suffering is difficult, but is not without purpose. God has used pain, and continues to use pain, as faced by believers, to accomplish much good.

Paul's point here is also that the struggle he faces is exactly the same as it has always been. Whether the struggles are large or small, the same basic idea applies. The world—which rejects God—is working constantly to interfere with the spread of the gospel. Paul's experiences are simply the natural consequences of that battle.