God Speaks
It is God himself, in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work of telling his Good News to others, and so we never give up. 2 We do not try to trick people into believing—we are not interested in fooling anyone. We never try to get anyone to believe that the Bible teaches what it doesn’t. All such shameful methods we forego. We stand in the presence of God as we speak and so we tell the truth, as all who know us will agree.
3 If the Good News we preach is hidden to anyone, it is hidden from the one who is on the road to eternal death. 4 Satan, who is the god of this evil world, has made him blind, unable to see the glorious light of the Gospel that is shining upon him or to understand the amazing message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is God. 5 We don’t go around preaching about ourselves but about Christ Jesus as Lord. All we say of ourselves is that we are your slaves because of what Jesus has done for us. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made us understand that it is the brightness of his glory that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone can see that the glorious power within must be from God and is not our own.
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit. 9 We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. 10 These bodies of ours are constantly facing death just as Jesus did; so it is clear to all that it is only the living Christ within who keeps us safe.
11 Yes, we live under constant danger to our lives because we serve the Lord, but this gives us constant opportunities to show forth the power of Jesus Christ within our dying bodies. 12 Because of our preaching we face death, but it has resulted in eternal life for you.
13 We boldly say what we believe, trusting God to care for us, just as the psalm writer did when he said, “I believe and therefore I speak.” 14 We know that the same God who brought the Lord Jesus back from death will also bring us back to life again with Jesus and present us to him along with you. 15 These sufferings of ours are for your benefit. And the more of you who are won to Christ, the more there are to thank him for his great kindness, and the more the Lord is glorified.
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our inner strength in the Lord is growing every day. 17 These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! 18 So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: In this chapter the Apostle Paul explained the motivation that kept him going despite the many struggles and great opposition he was facing. First, he reminded the believers in Corinth that he had been given this assignment of taking the Gospel to the Gentiles by the mercy of God Himself. Therefore, he didn’t lose heart. Second, because God was watching and listening, Paul didn’t try to cover-up or deceive them or tamper with God’s word. Therefore, he openly presented the Truth. Third, it was Satan and their own sinful nature that was blinding the minds of unbelievers, keeping them from seeing the glorious light of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Therefore, he kept shining the Light, telling people about all that Jesus was and did. Paul related that even though his human body and mind were weak and subject to distress, he knew that the God who raised Jesus from the dead would also raise him (and them) at the proper time. The temporary troubles of this world are nothing at all [a single grain of sand] in comparison with the eternal vastness of God’s glory that the saved get to enjoy in His loving presence for eternity [the whole Himalayan mountain range].
Prayer: Dear loving Father God, thank You for comforting and quieting Your children who are in distress. Lord, there are so many around the world who are suffering in so many ways. I see that these hardships and difficulties are either “natural,” manmade, or some combination of both. But You, Lord God, are far greater than it all! Since I believe in You, Lord, help me like Paul and the Psalmist, to speak up. Your power was sufficient to raise Jesus from the dead. It is strong enough to raise Paul, the Corinthians, all past and present believers, and me, too. Whether You choose to rescue those who are suffering, it is worth it if more and more people are being reached by Your grace: there will be more and more thanksgiving and more and more glory to God. Thank You that the troubles of this world are only temporary, but the blessings of Your grace and glory are eternal. Help me to keep focused on the unseen things that are eternal–namely You. You created the whole universe and everything in it, seen or unseen. You raised Jesus from the dead! You are infinite love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and restraint. In Your sovereignty, mercy, and grace, You are in the process of transforming those who believe into Your image. You will one day destroy everything that is harmful to Your children or that does not line up with Your personality or character. May it be soon. Even so, “Come, Lord Jesus.” AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will pray that God will show people who are experiencing various difficulties how He is using the situation to transform them into His image.
- I will become involved with people who are experiencing various difficulties to show them a small piece of what God is truly like.
- I will make a list of ways God has used various circumstances in my life to transform me to be more like Jesus and thank Him for them.
- I will ask God for the courage to share at least parts of this list with others as appropriate.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.