“We have this treasure… to show that this… power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”

2 Corinthians 4:7-9
I have several flower gardens around my property which I tend to painstakingly. But where I live, there are a lot of deer. They and I have an ongoing battle over my flowers. They seem to think I’ve planted the gardens just for them! It’s not unusual for me to discover that the flowers I was looking forward to blooming have been eaten, every bud gone. What a disappointment!

We all face disappointments in life—most of them far more severe than my loss of a few flowers. Things don’t turn out as we anticipated. Relationships end, sickness comes, the job we wanted wasn’t offered, our plans fail.

The Apostle Paul speaks to us in God’s Word about not losing heart, about fixing our eyes on what is unseen rather than seen, about how we are more than conquerors in all of this through Christ. In fact, Paul says that we “always carry around in our body the death of Jesus” (1 Corinthians 4:10) which has brought us life. Our Easter joy from early this month is carried around with us each day, outdoing our disappointments.



Scripture Focus

Romans 8:18-31

Insight

We may be disappointed, but we find joy in knowing that this journey we’re on is not defeated by whatever frustrations come our way.

Bible In A Year

  • Judges 18-19
  • Psalm 118
  • 1 Corinthians 11

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