Beyond Common Sense

I recently read 2 Corinthians 4: 8-10 and took some time to study it out. Oh, the joy of knowing God and His Word. Oh, the privilege of studying it and sharing it with YOU! I pray that this will be an encouragement to you.

Whether life’s “normal” has gotten you down or you are facing the darkest day of your life, GOD IS THERE ready to comfort, aid, and encourage each of us on our pilgrim walk. (What is a pilgrim walk, anyway? (A pilgrim is defined as “a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons. Synonyms: worshipper, devotee, believer, traveler, wayfarer, crusade.) That is what we are doing, isn’t it? We are not just living life on a rock, God gives us a walk to walk, a purpose for life! How blessed we are through the “normal” days AND the dark ones!

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (NKJV)

• We are hard-pressed on every side— hard-pressed: pushed around by everyone. Whether it’s peer pressure, financial pressure, or time pressure—we are pressed. We want to believe that our generation is the only generation that faces this, but that is a lie from Satan. A day has always been 24 hours since the beginning of time and how we fill it is our decision, not Mr. Pressure’s.
• yet not crushed—Praise God!!! To be crushed is to be destroyed. Yes, God crushes us like the olive to press out the good, but His pressing is in love, not the crush of the heel on a despised bug.
• we are perplexed—Oh, so often this world makes no sense! We live in a state of confusion. The brain seems a jumble, the way twisted, too many curves…
• but not in despair—But… if we know everything is part of God’s perfect plan for our lives, we will not despair. (Right Marila? “To despair is to turn your back on God.”)
• persecuted—Yes, this is happening!!! More will happen. How will I react if a red flag with five stars starts flying over this land? Will I be able to survive under a ruler who hates Christians? Without sounding too dramatic, it has already begun, dear friends?
• but not forsaken—Oh, yes!!! Never, NEVER, NEVER forsaken. God knows and desires to turn this lump of clay into the finest element known to man: gold! His ways may seem hard, even drastic, but He knows what we need.
• struck down—OUCH! Rejected, overthrown, canceled! Oh, how it hurts not to be in the ‘in’ crowd. But when the ‘in’ crowd is rushing down the road that leads to destruction, do I really want to be part of that?
• but not destroyed—PRAISE GOD! There may be rejection, but we will not be destroyed, even when our lives are snuffed out. This is the stuff that martyrs hold onto! This is how they faced the fire, the guillotine, the stake!
• always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus—Hmm. Sounds like one of my favorite verses: “I AM CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST…” Galatians 2:20
• that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body—Lord, may those who see me today see you and not me!!!