Don´t Give UP

REFERENCE: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won´t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don´t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Observation: When we face difficult times, why not give up?

For three reasons; first, even when we are crushed by life, God is working renewal in our spirits. We may not be able to sense it fully at the moment of despair, but God is at work aligning our spirits with Him.

Second, God is not only restoring our spirits, bringing us closer to Him, He is changing our character to make it more like His. Our troubles are for just now, but the character it produces in us is for the rest of our lives and for eternity.

Third, troubles are temporary, our future is eternal. Problems may seem more real because they are always in front of our face but the things we can´t "see", what God is up to, our character development, is of the eternal dimension and forever.

Application/Confession: I hate problems, difficulties and challenges. I just want them to go away. Instead, God wants to use them to perfect me. My job, I suppose, is to submit to what He is up to in me.

PRAYER: Lord, I may want to say, "take this cup of trouble from me." But what I will say is; "not my will but Yours be done." I know, and have seen, that You work good in me by means of difficulties and trials. Thank You for them because of what they produce. May I always submit to what You are up to in me.