“We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:9b NLT
Can you believe these are some of the words Paul wrote to the Corinthian church not long after Jesus was persecuted?
I ask this question because, in my opinion, those same words are so necessary right now. Today. In this moment, even as I type out these words.
Life is doing the most right now for many people, for many different reasons and now is a good a time as any to be reminded of this declaration. Yes, life is hard. Yes, this adulting thing is wild. Yes, you thought it would be different - easier maybe. And although all of these things may be true; there’s a greater truth that the Apostle Paul used this letter to point the church at Corinth to; a truth that I think would benefit us.
In this second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul spends chapter 4 admonishing these believers to keep going. To keep proclaiming the truth, to not give up and when you think you are at the end of your rope; you are never at the end of your hope.
Because we serve Jesus, we should expect to face many trials and hardships in this life but verse 17 promises that “our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”.
And the sweet spot for me as I read through this chapter is verse 18:
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. NLT 😮💨
Let’s be real, even after reading this, it would be so easy to give up and throw in the towel but my prayer is that you would ask the Lord to help you to trust that He has a plan and that plan is for His glory and your good. God knows how and when this present trouble in your life will end, so while you are going through - keep your eyes on Jesus: the founder and perfecter of your faith.