Daily Devotionals

Dead End Desperation Week 4: Friday

"That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

Growth is vital for anything if we want to thrive. That is why we track the growth of babies and children so closely, both physical growth and developmental growth. We cheer when babies start to crawl and then celebrate when toddlers start to walk. We hold back tears when we proudly send children to preschool, kindergarten, and eventually college or their first job. It all happens faster than we could imagine. Somehow, when we become adults, we stop thinking about growth. Even as adults, growth is essential, especially spiritual growth. One of the ways we grow the most spiritually is through the difficult times we face.

If anyone understood that difficult times make us spiritually more robust and grow our relationships with Christ, it was the apostle Paul. He wrote about this in 2 Corinthians 4. He had faced imprisonment, beatings, and much more, yet he remained firm in His faith. Here is what He wrote, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” (verses 8-9). He continued by saying, “we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus” (verse 11). Despite these things, Paul wrote that he and his fellow Christ followers never give up, saying, “though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day” (verse 16). In other words, through everything they faced, they were growing stronger spiritually. They may have felt physically weak at times, but they were strong in their faith, which was the most important thing.

Friends, God will use even the most difficult situations we face to grow our faith in Him and our relationship with Him. Going through difficult times causes us to turn to Him. Hard and desperate times remind us that we are not in control. They also remind us who is in control. Turn to God in your desperate times, my friend. Remember, “though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.”

Moving toward action

Take some time to think about the difficult situation you are facing now. How has your relationship grown through this situation? How can you turn to Him and grow deeper? You can spend more time praying to Him, reading Scripture, or listening to worship songs. Whatever you decide, turn to Him in the situation you are facing. Then, make the decision to attend church with us this weekend and lean into your faith.

Going Deeper

2 Corinthians 4:1-18 (NLT)

"Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are[e] being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."