2 Corinthians 4
The past few days I’ve had some honest conversations with the Lord. What does it really mean to not lose heart in this season of so much loss, so much pain? As our c-section quickly approaches (17 days away)… everything just feels heavy. I have been wrestling with this chapter in 2 Corinthians, going back and reading the first 3 chapters, letting Paul’s own story and his words of hope and what it means that our hope is found in Jesus sink more fully into my own heart. Doing some “thought” training…. re-training my mind to recognize when I’m more fixed on things that are temporal and not on eternal things. Thinking of Jesus more and what He’s done for me on the cross. Being a little more “transformed by the renewing of my mind” (Romans 12:2). And being honest, brutally honest with the Lord in the midst of my questions, fears and emotions. And He has met me in some very real ways. And today, this is what spilled out as I sat down to write what God has been writing on my heart in this passage…
We do not lose heart because the
GLORY of God is being revealed IN our lives and THROUGH our lives.
We do not lose heart because
THOUGH we are dying daily to the things of this world we cherish more than Jesus, He is becoming MORE POWERFUL IN us.
IN our weakness
IN our distress
IN our grief
IN our pain
IN our loneliness
IN our loss.
THOUGH everything in us seems to be WASTING away,
our INNER NATURE. The SOUL.
The very part of us that matters MOST is being RENEWED.
DAILY
MOMENT by MOMENT.
RENEWED in
COURAGE that comes from Jesus
HOPE that’s founded in eternity
STRENGTH that could only come from the very POWER that raised JESUS from the dead.
Oh, you may not SEE it happening in you,
You may not FEEL it coming out of you.
BUT
HE is doing a work IN you.
In your DARKEST moments.
A work that is preparing for YOU
an ETERNAL weight of GLORY
BEYOND ALL COMPARISON
as we LOOK to Jesus,
as we LOOK to the hope of heaven,
as we LOOK to the power of His death
that we can comprehend more fully the reality of His LIFE in us.
He IS DOING SOMETHING.
We have THIS treasure in
jars of clay…
in these BROKEN and WEAK bodies
SO THAT
JESUS
and HIS power
can be seen through us and in us.
Through our very pain and brokenness..
the LIFE and LIGHT that Jesus is bringing INTO the darkness,
is SHOUTING to a watching world that
THERE IS HOPE beyond the grave
THERE IS REDEMPTION of all things
THERE IS A SAVIOR
and His name is JESUS
and HE is worth our lives.
SO
WE DO NOT LOSE HEART
not because of the circumstances of this life that makes us faint and weary and discouraged,
BUT
because of the ONE
who has walked this earth
paid for our sins
to give us LIFE
LIFE NOW
and
FOR ETERNITY
to redeem ALL THINGS broken
ALL THINGS lost
Yes… we DO NOT LOSE HEART
because of JESUS.
Oh that my eyes would look at my circumstances through the lens of Jesus first today.
Questions for Reflection:
- In light of this passage.. Ask yourself in the midst of your circumstances “Why can I not lose heart today?”
- As you listen to the song below and hear the story behind it, ask yourself “How can it be well with my soul in any and all circumstances?”
- Ask the Lord to give you a greater vision of the cross, a greater joy in Him.
Tomorrow’s passage (Day 16)
I’m going to work my way through a few more chapters in 2 Corinthians and will be in 2 Corinthians 5 tomorrow (I would encourage you to read the first 3 chapters as well for a little background!)
*Disclaimer: Clearly my 40 day DAILY devotional was a bit ambitious… and though my goal is to post daily sometimes I just need a little more time to process the passages I’ve chosen before putting anything to words. My hope is that for those following along you’re finding some of these passages just too rich as well. If I haven’t posted anything then I’m still working through the latest passage I’ve listed and hope you’re enjoying doing that as well as we all search for hidden treasures together!
Some recent sweet memories we’ve made with Dasah
Kevin and I went on our first wine and canvas date (no wine for me! 🙂 ) and painted this! We hid Sophie and Dasah’s initials in the painting too!
- A Time to be Silent and a Time to Speak - October 29, 2020
- Teaching Them to Hope, Birthday After Birthday. - January 15, 2020
- A Taste of Hope Fulfilled – Briella Dawn’s Birth Story - August 3, 2018
Beautiful words. Thank you for continually bringing perspective to daily life. I will not lose heart because He cares for me so much more than I could ever begin to grasp. My prayers for you are that the words you speak can remain real in your heart each day as you await Dasah’s arrival and in the days, months and years beyond.