2 Corinthians 4 - 12.29.23
Scripture : 2 Corinthians 4:13-18
“13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Observation:
Verse 13 says we believe and therefore we speak. We are to share our faith that the one who raised Jesus from the dead will also raise us. When we do, we will get a great reward. God is glorified as an ever increasing amount of people rejoice at this news.
Even people in Paul’s times got discouraged (vs. 16). Paul offers a solution. We are to fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is eternal. Also, we can remember the troubles we experience now will reap eternal glory. We can be renewed on the inside daily.
Application:
I need to seek God each day to fill me with a spirit of faith, not focusing on the trials around me. Instead, fixing my eyes on who God is and his power that raised Jesus from the dead. BTW that power also is given to us. (Romans 8:11) What a hope we have that others need to hear.
This has become extra real to me as my Uncle passed away and my cousin is dealing with the sudden death of his mom last March and now this. The pain is real, but we have hope. We need to speak it out because we never know if the people we meet and those we love have another day.
Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you so much for all you have done for us. Coming as a baby was such a humbling experience. The God of the universe having to cry so his mom knows he needs to be changed. You did not come in vain, but died for our sins and on the third day you rose from the dead to give us everlasting life.
Please help me to have this truth at the front of my mind daily and the joy that goes with it. So, I will not be able to keep quiet. My faith will prompt me to share with others and as this passage says “more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”
Amen.
- Cindy Howard
