Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
December 18, 2021
Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
16 So we aren’t depressed. But even if our bodies are breaking down on the outside, the person that we are on the inside is being renewed every day. 17 Our temporary minor problems are producing an eternal stockpile of glory for us that is beyond all comparison. 18 We don’t focus on the things that can be seen but on the things that can’t be seen. The things that can be seen don’t last, but the things that can’t be seen are eternal.
Good Morning! Focus on the things that can’t be seen!
Hmmm! The first thing that I need to do when I begin to read a passage that begins with “so” is to go back and read what comes before. This is a pretty big “so”: So we aren’t depressed, or Therefore we do not lose heart in other translations. I immediately need to know the “why” that preceded this statement. “So” let’s back up and read 6-9.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
Ah, yes, so we are not depressed now has context through which we can discern the message. Paul reminds us how God provides strength in weakness. Jesus turned the views of the world upside down as he shared the Good News. The words of God as spoken by Jesus were radically different than those beliefs of the time, and they are radically different than the beliefs of our time.
Regardless of our current circumstances, all who call Jesus their Lord and Savior have been promised the gift of eternal life. Praise God! We are called to share the light of Jesus with the world, so that all may find their way out of the darkness. We are not promised lives without challenges, but those who follow the light will never be alone and will be protected and saved by the power of Almighty God. Amen
Creator God, Thank You for loving us. The challenges that face us are nothing compared to the joys with which you bless us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: I will take time to name my pain and joy and surrender it all to God.
So . . ., focus on the unseen! Pastor Liz
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