How God Redeems our Suffering

These verses in 2 Corinthians have been a precious reminder to me that my current pain and suffering (and yours as well!) is all for God's good purposes not only for me and Dave and our kids, but also for God's church, which means the church we are members of and all its members. And because of that, He is giving all the grace and blessing needed to sustain me on my "sick bed" so I don't have to sin as I suffer; nor do I have to complain or fear or have anxiety or just live with the attitude that, "I just wish it would all go away." And when I do these things, I have access to the powerful perfection of Jesus Christ and can repent, turn my heart and attitudes and words around and get back in alignment with the Spirit of God.

2 Corinthians 4:5-18 says, "For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 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. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

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, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 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.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 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."

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