Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT)

16 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.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

God’s Word is filled with ‘nuggets’ that serve to encourage us and/or guide us through every circumstance of life. In these verses we see where Paul was sharing with his church at Corinth the reason why he was not letting the troubles that faced the Corinthian church get to him and affect his joy. Basically Paul shared that no matter how deep the troubles seemed at the time, there was a much greater joy that helped him to go on. What a reminder for us today! There is so much going on in our families, amongst our friends and yes, even in our churches, that might easily give reason for us to throw up our hands and go hide in some corner somewhere. However, just as in the case of Paul, Christians today have a greater hope that outshines the troubles that may tend to beset us or discourage us. A song says it this way, “Hold on my child, for Joy Comes in the Morning“. My encouragement today comes not from the temporary things that may tend to discourage me today, but from the joy in knowing my future prospects of eternal happiness with my Master, the King of all kings, the Lord of all lords, the Creator of this universe, the One who gave up His very life so that I may have eternal life in heaven – this is the source of my joy that I can grasp hold of and look forward to. While I may be happy or even sad today, I have a hope and a joy in knowing that real joy comes when I am called out of this world and into the real joys of heaven with Jesus. If you are having difficulty grasping hold of that eternal joy today, then I encourage you to accept my Lord as your Lord, look to His Word daily for ‘nuggets’ that will encourage, strengthen and grow you in the faith, for there truly is an awesome ‘JOY’ that we can all look forward to! Please contact me, if there is anything that I might pray with you about or be of encouragement to you in your Christian walk.

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

What a joy in serving You, Lord Jesus! When I consider that this world may be harsh to Your children and may take advantage of us and beat up on us with cruel words or actions, yet deep inside we can still rejoice in knowing that we have a Savior who loves us with a perfect love and has therefore made provisions for us, even after we pass on from this world. Thank You for going through each day with me, for keeping Your hand upon me each day, for guiding me through each day with an attitude exampled by You. You know the challenges that I face in doing this life in spite of the temptations and all that Satan may place before me, so You know that I need You more today than I did yesterday and that each day is a new challenge. But praise be to God I can walk through each day with a smile, with Your hand in mine. Praise the eternal name of Jesus!

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
nuggetsfromgodsword@yahoo.com.
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