In Danger
Are
they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s
descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk
like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more
frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and
again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three
times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was
shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I
have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger
from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger
in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from
false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I
have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold
and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for
all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and
I do not inwardly burn?
If I
must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and
Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows
that I am not lying. In
2 Corinthians 11:22-33
I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I
will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who
fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the
body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this
man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—
was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is
permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast
about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I
would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so
no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because
of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from
becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to
torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he
said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:1-10
Too often we run from challenges. Yet the people we love to read
about in the Bible are impressive because they did not run from challenges,
they embraced them. Paul, with the confidence of God’s help, faced troubles
head-on. The strength we are provided will be sufficient for us. Our weakness
becomes strength when we put all our faith in Him.
If God sends you on stony paths, He will
provide you with strong shoes.
Our Daily Bread –