July 12th, 2020
Devotional
“Consolation”
2 Corinthians 1
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Monday: “Suffering” - 2 Cor 1: 1-7
Why do bad things happen to good people? This is a question that people have wrestled with for centuries. As we heard in our previous sermon series on Job, there was a prevalent thought in ancient Israel that bad things only happened to bad people - so if you were suffering you must have some unconfessed sin in your life.
Fast forward to the time of Paul. People may not have articulated it the same way, but some in the church in Corinth felt that Paul must not be a true apostle, because his sufferings abound. He has been beaten up, put in jail, chased out of town. For some it became message that he could not truly be sent by Christ. Fast forward even more to today where we also struggle how to explain suffering.
For Paul, neither these theologies were correct. For him, suffering allows us to be consoled or comforted by God. And as we are comforted by God, so we are able to comfort others. In other words it is precisely because he has suffered so much that he can bring the Good News in a way that reaches people’s hearts.
How has your suffering helped you to comfort others?
Prayer: God, we thank you that you can redeem our suffering. For in our trials, we feel the peace and comfort of your presence, which we are able to proclaim to others in their own sufferings. Thank you, O Lord! Amen.
Tuesday: “Rescue” - 2 Cor 1: 8-11
Paul had a gift for not avoiding tough topics. He knew what some people were saying about his lack of credibility as an apostle because of his suffering, but instead of shying away from it, he leans in. Telling of exactly how much he suffered in Asia.
But even that suffering held a gift from Paul, because it taught him that it is God alone who rescues. Which is a message he can now boldly proclaim to the Corinthians. And because of that, Paul can have hope in all situations. For his hope doesn’t rest in the ways of man, but in God alone.
What has taught you to hope?
Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes life seems to press in on us to the point of despair. Yet, even in those times you invite us to hope. To not hope in the situation itself or the ways of the world, but instead hope in the help that can only come from you. Save us, we pray. Amen.
Wednesday: “Testimony” - 2 Cor 1: 12-14
In the last few weeks I have had a few funeral services. What always strikes me about preparing to celebrate someone’s life is what their family members have to say about them. What they have to proclaim about why this person’s life deeply mattered to them and to the world.
Paul does not wait until he has perished in this world to talk about the meaning of life. Not just his life, but the lives of those who he is in ministry with. He says outright that they have behaved with frankness and godly sincerity. And they want to pass on the wisdom and grace of God.
Some day we will all have someone who speaks of us when we are gone. If not at a funeral service perhaps in an obituary. If not in an obituary, perhaps around the table, passing down stories to the next generation. What do you want them to proclaim about how you lived? How is your life right here and now a testimony?
What do you want people to say about the faith you lived when you are gone?
Prayer: God, we want to be people who are known for our love of you and our love of others. Use us in such a way that others cannot help but know of your Good News through the way that we live our lives. Amen!
Thursday: “Yes and No” - 2 Cor 1: 15-22
We live in a world where it is assumed that someone is going to break a promise to you at some point in time. We learn this lesson very early on, when our parents promise to take us somewhere, only to have plans change. We carry it into our adult lives, where we double and triple book ourselves because we say “yes” in such a way that it actually means “no.”
Not so for Paul. Living in an honor shame society, not keepings one word was not tolerable. It would make people lose respect in you and speak poorly of your name.
Paul is speaking to the Corinthians about not just making their word matter, but to seek first the Word of God. God has said “yes” over each of us in a way that speaks to our calling. And now we are to say “yes” back to God, without reserve, in a way that brings God all the glory!
How often do you say “yes!” To God?
Prayer: Lord, sometimes we seek to please other people more than please you. We say “yes” to everyone, only to disappoint them. And we rarely say “yes” to you, which is also disappointment. Lord, teach us how to boldly say “yes” to you, all for the sake of your Kingdom. Amen.
Friday: “Did Not Come” - 2 Cor 1: 23-24
It would seem that news is traveling around that Paul was to come to Corinth, but that he never made it. His point, however, is clear. He did not make it, because it was not in God’s timing. While Paul may have desired to be there, it was better that he was not.
Because Paul was absent, it taught them to stand firm in their faith. Because Paul was absent, they had to learn how to share the Good News without him, in a faithful way. Because Paul was absent they had to learn to serve God on their own.
It is hard to find joy in the fact that our plans are sometimes not God’s plan. And yet, Paul brings that joy out, boldly, for the Corinthians, pointing out they were blessed even in his absence. Next time something does not go as plan, what would it look like to seek the blessing of God in the change?
Tell of a time when things did not go as you planned and it was a blessing.
Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you are God and we are not. We thank you that your ways are better than our ways. Let these not just be words that we say, but that which we believe with all our hearts. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Forgiveness” - 2 Cor 2: 1-10.
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