Today we continue our new series entitled, “Press through it!”
Yesterday I introduced you to the following passage. Let’s go back to it today.
“We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us. We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don’t know what to do, but we don’t give up. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. So we constantly experience the death of Jesus in our own bodies, but this is so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death, so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die.”
??(2 Corinthians? ?4:7-11? ?ERV??)
Today I am going to focus in on this line: “We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated.” The King James Version translates that line as, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.”
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. The Apostle Paul taught us God Himself is living on the inside of us and that the power we have comes from Him and not from us. After making this great statement, the very next thing he said was, “We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated.” Paul went from “We have this treasure in earthen vessels,” to “We are troubled on every side”. This contrast is one we should pay attention to. On the one hand, God has chosen to take up residence inside of us when we are Born-Again. On the other hand, God’s presence does not guarantee a lack of opposition. Actually it’s the opposite. God’s presence and His power in us will actually attract opposition from the enemy. The good news is that God is with us, we don’t have to face the challenges alone, and with His power we already have the victory!
2. Bad things happen to good people. That’s life. When you start walking with God and seeking to perform His will in the earth, may encounter trouble on every side. The good news is that God is with you and IN you. Since God is IN you, you can face trouble and not be troubled by your trouble. As a matter of fact, you can get to the point where you trouble your trouble instead of being troubled by it.
3. When you realize that God is living on the inside of you, you can have trouble all around you, but that does not mean you have to allow it IN YOU! You can have peace on the inside, even when everything is seemingly going crazy on the outside.
4. God never promised you an absence of trouble. God just promised to be with you. Since God is with you, you can say like Paul, “We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated!”
5. The presence of trouble does not have to mean an absence of peace. Just because trouble is there, it does not mean you have to be troubled by it. In Paul’s letter the believers in Colossae he taught believers to allow the peace of God to rule our hearts (Col 3:15). The Amplified version of Col 3:15 says that the peace of God can actually serve like an umpire in our hearts, deciding and settling questions that arise.
6. If you walk with God long enough you are going to face challenges. You are going to experience difficult situations and challenging moments/days. But you don’t have to respond the way the world responds to trouble. The peace of God — which surpasses human reasoning and confounds psychologists and psychiatrists — can actually serve like an umpire over your heart, helping you to deal with trouble without being troubled by it.
7. The final point is a simple one. You can have trouble on every side and not be moved by it when you have God on the INSIDE!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You placed Your treasure in an earthen vessel when You placed Your Spirit inside of me. I am in You and You are in me. I am in Your Kingdom and Your Kingdom is in me. Your presence does not guarantee and absence of opposition. Your presence and Your purpose may actually attract trouble. But I am not moved. I can have trouble on every side and not be troubled by it, because I have You on the INSIDE. Instead of being troubled by my trouble, I trouble my trouble by allowing Your peace to be the umpire of my soul. I have peace on the inside no matter what is going on on the outside! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
