Hard-Pressed
2 Corinthians
4: 8-9
8 We
are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we
are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted,
but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—
Reading other
translations of this passage, I found in The Message – “We’ve been surrounded
and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do,
but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but
God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.”
When the sailors
of the sailing ship days faced bad storms, they would call out to encourage one
another. They would say, “Hold fast.” When the waves smashed against the side of
the ship and washed over the decks and the winds howled around them and
lightning cracked overhead and it seemed like everything was against them, they
would encourage each other with, “hold fast.”
Paul calls to us
in our storms with a similar cry. In Ephesians
6:14a says, “Stand therefore.” He writes
to us to be prepared for opposition from the devil. He tells us to put on spiritual armor and describes
what and how to put it on. Then he says
that when you’ve done what you can do to stand up to the devil to stand
therefore.
You’ve gotten
ready for a fight and now is the time to be prepared for that fight. You’ve gone through all that you needed to do
to be ready to fight so expect the fight to come. The enemy does not want to see us marching
into battle and will try to hit us before we can do damage to his kingdom. And if you’ve already begun working to tell
the Gospel then the enemy will move against you. This is a surety. You’re actively working against him so he
will strike back. So when you’re done
everything to stand, stand therefore.
But take heart; even
though our enemy walks around like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour, we
are in the army of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The enemy will show his teeth and he will try
to frighten you with his fierce roar.
You will think you’re about to be attacked by a wild lion. But he only has the power over you that you
allow him to have. You are not a
helpless victim waiting to be consumed by this wild beast. You are marching side-by-side with the real
Lion and as long as you stay by His side you are safe. This does not mean the devil won’t throw a
swipe at you with his claws, it means you can withstand his attacks as long as
you remember who you are in Christ and pray and stay with Him. In other words: now that you’ve done all to stand, stand
therefore.
Look at this
passage from 2 Corinthians again. We
have the promise of “but not” from God.
No matter how strong the attack that we face, God says, “but not.” “But not crushed, but not in
despair, but not forsaken, but not destroyed.” God never promises “but not attacked, but not
tried, but not tested,” He says we will come through these things. No matter what we face, not matter how
difficult the storms of life, it will not last forever: we will be preserved by God’s grace. We are not destined to be defeated, we are
destined to win in Christ.
Stephen Cram January
26, 2014
Daniel 1:8
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile
himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he
drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself.
I have posted three sermons and a Praise Chapel TV
message on YouTube. They can be seen this blog.
Visit my pastor’s blog at http://pastorjonrhinehart.blogspot.com/.
Join Pastor Jon Tuesday nights at 6:30 for Praise Chapel
TV at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/praise-chapel-tv
.
Unless otherwise noted all Scripture is from the New King
James Version of the Bible.
