But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Christ, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So, death works in us, but life in you. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 [NASB]
Each of us, when we encounter a speed bump or cliff in life,
wonder why we must go through it. “Why is this happening to me?” we may ask. “How
can I ever get through this trouble?” is another question that often arises. If
we are believers, the answer is most obvious when we are sailing on calm seas.
We get through it with God’s strength and direction. As we battle through the difficulty,
we often forget God is with us and makes His wisdom, knowledge, power, and
strength available to us. Yet, when we get through the trial, we realize God
was there all the time. Still, we may wonder, “Why did that horrible time
happen?”
Have you considered God will orchestrate difficult times? He
will do it to help us grow and to bring Himself glory. How we get through the
trials determine if we grow and if God gets the glory. Paul spoke in 2 Corinthians
4 about trials. He said, “We are afflicted, but not crushed; perplexed, but not
despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” This
attitude did not just happen. It came from going through trials and finding God
to be faithful when Paul called upon Him. Paul spent this part of his letter to
the Corinthians teaching them from his own experiences. He spoke as one who had
been through the fires.
When we encounter our own fires, we wonder why we must go
through that trial. “What did I do to deserve this?” we may ask. Paul explained
two reasons for trials in 2 Corinthians 4:7 & 11. He said we go through
difficulties “so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and
not from ourselves.” (2 Cor. 4:7b) People go through trials to show God’s great
power as they go through them. In verse 11b, Paul added, we go through these
things “so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal (believer)
flesh.” Our lives can be a testimony of Jesus’ life in us enabled by His Holy
Spirit. This latter cannot happen without growth and growth cannot happen
without the believer calling on God for help during difficult times. Difficult
times grow a person’s faith in God and make the person more identified with the
sufferings of Jesus.
Let me give an example. We have a prodigal child in our
family. Many people have prodigals in their families. Our family prays daily
for this adult child, for God to keep speaking to the heart of the person, to
break down the walls Satan has erected in the person’s heart, to bring the
person to the point of repentance, and bring the person back to living in communion
with God and His children, our family included. The last five years have been
painful as we watched this child live without God and walk in ways contrary to
God’s moral laws. On Mother’s Day Sunday, without my foreknowledge, the pastor
called me up to the front of the church. I had no idea what was about to
happen. As the pastor talked about the people in our church who may have prodigals
in their family, whether child, sibling, or parent, I got nervous. I had been
at the point of tears in my pew and knew I could not talk or pray without crying.
I called out to God silently in my heart and mind asking Him to make me strong
enough to speak without crying. Eventually, the pastor asked me to pray for
each person standing who has a prodigal in their family. I prayed without
crying as God has led me to pray these last 5 years for my adult child.
Why did I tell you this story? I told you this story because
if I had not called upon God for His strength to get through that time of
prayer, I would have cried. My prayer would have been babbling. People would not
have had prayers lifted for their prodigals and learned how to pray for them. And
God would not have been glorified. My prayer that morning was a testimony to
God’s greatness, goodness, love, and faithfulness. Nothing in me could have done
it without God’s intervention. Other people would not have gained strength and
grown in their walk with God about their prodigal.
Paul added two other benefits of going through trials at the
end of chapter four. He said,
Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. (1 Corinthians 4:16-17 [NASB])
As we go through trials, God receives glory, Jesus’
life in us manifests itself and receives
testimony, God renews our inner person daily, and, our affliction produces an eternal weight
of glory.
For today and the next tomorrows, when you go through
trials, I encourage you to consider not asking, “Why must I go through this?”
or “What did I do to deserve this?” Instead, ask God to give you His strength,
wisdom, and power to go through the difficulty so He will receive glory, and
your life and voice will bring testimony to the life of Jesus in you. For this,
you will grow in your Christlikeness and in relationship with God, and you will
get a greater reward in heaven.
Lord, God, I admit, I
hate to go through hard times. I hate to struggle and slog through the stormy
seas that batter me. Forgive me for attempting to stand on my own and not
looking to You, My Lord, for wisdom, strength, and power. Forgive me for
walking away from You during those difficult times. Lord, help me remember You
are always with me and I only need to call to You for help. Lord be my strength,
wisdom, and Protector. Be my guide. Help me grow closer to You even if it means
I must go through trials. Help me stand strong with You so You receive glory
and my life testifies to the life of Your Son in me. Amen.
