Scripture:
“Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, ‘Light up the darkness!’ and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, ‘I believed it, so I said it,’ we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:5-18 (MSG)
Perspective:
Paul was writing to the church at Corinth about the struggles he faced in his ministry for the Gospel. As he was listing some of the challenges they had faced, his perspective says something significant about his faith. Paul had faced imprisonment and unbelievable hardships. In the midst of these struggles, he understood that God could be glorified in his weakness. He knew that his ordinary life had great potential to show the extraordinary power of God. In speaking about their suffering, he said, “We’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.” Paul had a higher perspective about his trials. He understood that God was able to use even the worst situation to proclaim the Gospel. He knew that God was working, and it gave him a confidence to persevere. In all the situations that Paul faced, he understood that things were happening that were invisible to the naked eye. It required faith filled vision to see God working behind the scenes. Even when everything appeared to be falling apart, Paul knew that God was holding it all together. Paul never lost heart nor gave up his hope in the Lord.
Many times when we face trials, we can’t honestly take on Paul’s perspective, because the challenges tend to break us. They can break our resolve, spirit, or faith. We can easily lose sight of the fact that our wholeness is not based on the circumstances but on Christ’s presence in our lives. In Christ, we are never broken, because He has the final say. You might be facing a very difficult trial in your life right now. But, it doesn’t have to be resolved for us to choose how we will respond. You may be pressed from all sides, but in Christ, you are not broken. God’s sustaining power might be the great testimony that your life is proclaiming. How we think and talk about our trials will influence what we believe. Although one does not want to be in denial, at some point, we have to rise up in faith, confident of God’s work in our lives. Trials have a refining power if we allow God to strengthen our hearts and build our faith. Like Paul, we have to rise up in faith declaring the Lord’s power. Instead of focusing on the outcome, we have to fine tune our spiritual vision to see what God is doing right now. Even today, if it seems like God is doing nothing, He is actually doing everything. When we come to the end of what we can do, it is the beginning of knowing God’s power and glory anew. As you rise up in faith despite your circumstances, may the light of Christ be even more radiant in your heart and life.
Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
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About Hona Amer
I help people live life to the fullest. Check out my book, Smart Work U. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. In order to receive updates, subscribe below.
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