Jars of Clay
As I write this post, I feel the weariness of life. Long hours of work, family stress, and despairing over news feeds that make me long for Christ’s return; that remind me of a spiritual battle that is raging day after day across the globe. “I can’t bear it! How do I continue forward?”, I said to myself as I lay in bed in the late hours. Maybe this week, or in the past you’ve shared that experience, a disillusionment that rocks your very world.
In 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 Paul writes,
See Paul was no foreigner to these things. He worked long and hard. He endured many things from beatings, stonings, imprisonment, and shipwreck. And, like you and I, was fragile and limited. But he did not break, he did not lose hope, nor was he destroyed. Why? Because inside himself, inside his ordinary, easily chipped and cracked self was a treasure; the treasure you and I also carry, the light and promise of the gospel, a glue that holds us together, that reminds us we will share in Christ’s resurrection, and that the present challenges we face are a temporary stop gap until the glorious moment we see him face to face. And Christ in his wisdom uses our weakness to reveal his strength. If we had it all together where would our need be of Christ? If we were unfazed how would our hearts long for a saviour? But because we have this light in us, in the face of suffering we move towards dependance on the one who has conquered death, the one who is all powerful, doing more than we could ever imagine. And it’s this glory in our weakness that makes us the perfect medium to tell people of what the Lord has done. And he, by his Spirit, will strengthen and lift you. Take heart, he who is in you is greater than all the suffering in the world.
Therefore, do not be discouraged by your weakness, but know that Christ has chosen you in your weakness so that his life in you may be revealed in you. Do not fear what the world may take because your treasure in Christ is imperishable and it belongs to you forever. And pray, that his Spirit strengthens you in all things, he will sustain you.
I pray this week, that he would strengthen you, that his peace would rule in your minds and heart, and that you would delight in his presence, in the shadow of his wing. May God supply all your needs and shape your desires to be like his own.
In 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 Paul writes,
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.”
See Paul was no foreigner to these things. He worked long and hard. He endured many things from beatings, stonings, imprisonment, and shipwreck. And, like you and I, was fragile and limited. But he did not break, he did not lose hope, nor was he destroyed. Why? Because inside himself, inside his ordinary, easily chipped and cracked self was a treasure; the treasure you and I also carry, the light and promise of the gospel, a glue that holds us together, that reminds us we will share in Christ’s resurrection, and that the present challenges we face are a temporary stop gap until the glorious moment we see him face to face. And Christ in his wisdom uses our weakness to reveal his strength. If we had it all together where would our need be of Christ? If we were unfazed how would our hearts long for a saviour? But because we have this light in us, in the face of suffering we move towards dependance on the one who has conquered death, the one who is all powerful, doing more than we could ever imagine. And it’s this glory in our weakness that makes us the perfect medium to tell people of what the Lord has done. And he, by his Spirit, will strengthen and lift you. Take heart, he who is in you is greater than all the suffering in the world.
Therefore, do not be discouraged by your weakness, but know that Christ has chosen you in your weakness so that his life in you may be revealed in you. Do not fear what the world may take because your treasure in Christ is imperishable and it belongs to you forever. And pray, that his Spirit strengthens you in all things, he will sustain you.
I pray this week, that he would strengthen you, that his peace would rule in your minds and heart, and that you would delight in his presence, in the shadow of his wing. May God supply all your needs and shape your desires to be like his own.
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