7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-18 ESV)
First, the believer in Christ must meditate upon the promises of God in His Word to guard from doubt and despair (2 Cor. 4:1-6). Second, there must be complete trust in the character of God (2 Cor. 7-18). This trust in the Lord is actively pursued by the following disciplines.
First, believers in Christ are to look beyond the physical to the spiritual (2 Cor. 4:7-9. When in the circumstances of suffering, there is rejoicing in Jesus Christ.
Second, believers in Christ are to look beyond the temporal to the eternal (2 Cor. 4:10-14). While in the circumstances of dying, there is true living in Jesus Christ.
Third, believers in Christ are to look beyond the visible to the invisible (2 Cor. 4:15-18). While in the midst of the temporal, eternity is in view in Jesus Christ.
Are you going through a time of doubt or despair? Have you become a prisoner of these enemies of God and the Gospel? If you are a Christian, the wonderful truth is that you already have in your possession all that is necessary for your deliverance.
Has the enemy tried to get you to doubt the truth of God’s Word? Have you sometimes been easily persuaded that the Scriptures cannot be trusted? As we seek to live the Christian life in a fallen world and in the midst of an increasingly pagan society, the enemy will do all that he can to breed doubt about the trustworthiness of God and His Word. Do not listen! God’s promises remain true.
Has the enemy tried to get you to doubt the reality of your own salvation? Has he tried to persuade you that you are a failure, that you will never be able truly to live a Christian life and that you are a terrible sinner? Has he even tried to persuade you that you are not a Christian at all? Do not listen! God’s promises remain true.
Has the enemy tried to breed despair in your heart? Has he tried to convince you that your Christian hope is a fantasy and that this world is all that there is? Has he tried to persuade you that Christianity is just one religion among hundreds of others and that it is not true? Has he tried to persuade you that Jesus Christ was just a man, like other men, and that he was not the Son of God? Has he tried to get you to the point where you despair of knowing anything for sure? Do not listen! God’s promises remain true.
There will come a day when the enemies of God, including doubt and despair, are utterly destroyed by God (as we see later in Pilgrim’s Progress when Doubting-Castle is torn down and Giant Despair is killed and then beheaded), but in the meantime we are in the midst of a battle.
Stand firm, then, learning from the experiences of Christian and Hopeful. In the first place, we must not be led off the narrow road that we are called to walk. In the second place, when doubt and despair would seek to imprison us, we must escape from these enemies by using the key that all believers have, the promises of God.
Have a blessed day in Christ.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 