Perseverance – 2 Corinthians 4:9b
We are …struck down, but not destroyed
Faith that trials cannot shatter and peace that uncertainty cannot destroy are ours when we depend upon the Lord without reserve. No excruciating grief, devastating loss, cruel desertion, or incapacitating illness can steal the deep-rooted assurance that God is for us and with us. We need not surrender to despair when sorrow and pain strike a heavy blow for hope promises we will once again thrive in Him.
Our feelings may sink, our minds may grow desolate, our souls may cry out in pain, but the Truth living within us will witness to our listening hearts that our God has not deserted us. Love will tell us He is with us and that He will not allow anything to destroy us. Although our burdens may be beyond our own strength and we may despair for our lives, Grace will uphold us, keeping us from collapsing under our load. Kindness will hold our hand, reminding us that our God will never let us fall, for He, who performs astounding miracles on behalf of His people, is our deliverer, the One in whom we trust.[1] Hope will give us confidence that the Lord, in His faithfulness, will undergird us, enabling us to persevere.
Relying on the Lord’s promises, we can stand in faith. When we walk through the Valley of Sorrow with our eyes fixed on the Lord, our hearts will know that He is with us, caring for us. Our grip on that which is perishing will loosen as we see the Lord renewing the imperishable for eternal glory.[2] As we hold onto the promises, though our souls may mourn, our Comforter and Hiding Place will comfort and hide us,[3] and as we lift our eyes toward heaven, toward the unseen, beyond the temporal, our hearts will confirm that the Lord’s love for us will endure throughout eternity.[4]
Make the Lord your confidence and shield, and you will find that nothing, neither crushing sorrow nor painful affliction, will destroy you. Pour out your heart before your God, putting your faith in Him, and He will be the rock of your strength and a refuge to you.[5] Rest in the security of His protection, trusting in Him, and He will deliver you, lifting you toward the glory of heaven.[6] Turn to the Lord, for He is the only One who can deliver you from the peril that besets you, and He will raise you to a place beyond your tears.
My sorrow would defeat me
Were it not for the empty cross
My weeping heart could embrace no hope
Were it not for the Healer’s touch
My mind would know no rest, no peace, no joy
In the valley of my loss
Were it not for the grace He pours out
To me through Jesus Christ
His brightness lights my darkness
His presence silences my fears
His hand in mine, He leads me
To a place beyond my tears
[1] 2 Corinthians 1:8-10
[2] 2 Corinthians 4:16-17
[3] Matthew 5:4
[4] 2 Corinthians 4: 18
[5] Psalm 62:7-8
[6] 2 Corinthians 1:10
