One day, it’s all going fine and the next day, the bottom drops out with no real explanation. It only takes a split second for everything to change. Maybe you lost your job, or a family member had a serious accident…fill in your own personal hardship. Whether or not you are presently encountering hardship in your life, you can be certain that they will come as we live in a fallen and broken world. You can’t escape life without hurt. Jesus even said,
I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world. —John 16:33 (MSG)
The second chapter of Corinthians provides a glimpse into the hardship Paul had to endure and walk through. Five times he received the forty lashes minus one. Three times he was beaten with rods; he was stoned; three times he was shipwrecked; he spent a night and a day in the open sea; and he was constantly on the move. He had been in danger from rivers; from bandits from his own countrymen, in the city, in the country, and at sea; and from false brothers. He had labored and toiled and had often gone without sleep; he had known hunger and thirst and had often gone without food; he had also experienced coldness and nakedness.
The very credentials that once defined his place of security and identity were dumped in exchange for Jesus. Paul made a choice with life’s hardships…he gloried in them. He came to a place in his relationship with God where God became everything good and true in his life. He began to see that God shaped his character through these hardships.
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