“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8, 9).
Pressed, but not crushed. Confused, but not hopeless. Rejected, but not abandoned by God. Knocked down, but not defeated.
Do not conclude that God has forgotten you simply because you are passing through a difficult season. Do not conclude that your prayers are worthless because the answer has not yet appeared. And do not conclude that you have failed God simply because you feel weak.
Bring your weakness to the Lord Jesus. Pray honestly. Continue in His Word. And keep walking with Him one step at a time.
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
The Apostle Paul was not saying that every suffering feels light or brief. He was comparing the sufferings of this present life with the eternal glory God has promised.
Let us therefore hold firmly to our Lord, not because we are strong enough to face everything alone, but because we know where to turn when we are weak.
We are like fragile earthen vessels, but the treasure we carry is from God. Our strength is not that we never become weak; our strength is that we can depend upon the Lord when we are weak.
The Apostle Paul expresses this truth in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
The glory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, because He is the source of our strength. There may be times when you feel that you have reached the end of your strength. You may be doing your best to follow the Lord and still encounter opposition. You may pray with tears and wait for an answer that has not yet come.
Remember that faith is not the absence of struggle; it is continuing to trust God in the midst of it.
