2 Corinthians 4:8-12 (KJV) We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
In these verses Paul shows the weakness of the “earthen vessels” – “hard pressed”, “perplexed”, “persecuted”, “struck down”, “death”. But he shows also God’s power at work in them – “not crushed”, “not in despair”, etc. If God’s power was not at work in these “earthen vessels”, these clay jars, they would not be able to accomplish anything and would surely be quickly destroyed.
The Christian life is not a trouble-free life. Jesus told us to expect trouble, and Paul certainly experienced it himself. Yet, God gives us the strength to withstand being pressed from every side without breaking. He gives us the wisdom and hope to see past difficulty and confusion so that we do not fall into despair. God doesn’t often remove our trouble, but He always gives us what we need when trouble comes.
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