In everything give Him thanks, give Him thanks.
In everything give Him thanks.
In the good times praise His name;
In the bad times do the same;
In everything give the King of Kings all the thanks.

(Written by Donna Alley)

Praise God when people mock our faith in Him and our resolve to live in His ways?  How unlike the world this is!  But isn’t that the Message of Christ? Bad times are opportunities to tell people about God.  Bad times will happen in our lives which bring us closer to God as we depend less on our human selves and more on his supernatural power!  Jesus also prayed for us to be sent by God to reconcile (reconnect) people to God by telling His story of redemption to all people.  Paul is one of those called to passionately do just that—speak the Truth even while under trial and torture, like Jesus suffered, so that others will know Him and be saved by His grace.  Paul knows that the hard times serve as a way for God to work His good into this imperfect world in which we live.  (See also Romans 8:28)

2 Corinthians 4, The Message

Trial and Torture

^1-2 Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we’re not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God.

^3-4 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get.

^5-6 Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

^7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!

^13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

^16-18 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“There’s far more here than meets the eye.” Paul knows that Jesus did not give up on him.  So, to become more like Jesus, we must not give up, become quiet or timid about who Jesus is, but keep moving by His direction even when we don’t fully see the “big picture” but trust that it will be revealed.  We know that it will be worth it all when we see Jesus face to face! 

We also know for certain that Jesus “sent us” on a mission in this world to tell His story for His glory and for our good.  It is by His “unfolding grace,” given to us daily—in all the details of our lives—that makes life worth it all!  Jesus is Life!  Jesus is not only Savior but He must be Lord of our lives.

Most of us have read and heard it preached that as believers we are “in the world” but not “of the world.”  But we must be careful how we think about this directive.  Jesus is not directing us to be a holy huddle but heaven sent to go and tell, teaching others about who He is and what He has done for all of us! 

David Mathis, editor of “Desiring God” writes;

“Jesus being “not of the world” isn’t the destination in these verses but the starting place. It’s not where things are moving toward, but what they’re moving from. He is not of the world, and he begins by saying that his followers are not of the world. But it’s going somewhere. Jesus is not huddling up the team for another round of kumbaya, but so that we can run the next play and advance the ball down the field.

Enter verse 18: “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” And don’t miss the surprising prayer of verse 15: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” Jesus is not asking his Father for his disciples to be taken out of the world, but he is praying for them as they are “sent into” the world. He begins with them being “not of the world” and prays for them as they are “sent into” the world.

So maybe it would serve us better — at least in light of John 17 — to revise the popular phrase “in, but not of” in this way: “not of, but sent into.” The beginning place is being “not of the world,” and the movement is toward being “sent into” the world. The accent falls on being sent, with a mission, to the world — not being mainly on a mission to disassociate from this world.

In Paul’s writings, he seems to have this same emphasis.  Paul is daily allowing himself to being molded and shaped by Jesus, the Master of his life, to be sent to tell even if it means trials and torture, going through good times and bad.  He emphasizes this perspective when he writes;

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!” Philippians 3:8-11, NLT

Press on…

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14, NLT

Believe and be saved. 

Be still and know that He is God. 

Be encouraged. 

Press on…

Lord,

Life throws curve balls that distract us and disappoint us. But you are with us always, reminding us of Your Holy Presence that does not leave us.  We know that you know what lies ahead and that you will work good from the bad as we press on toward you.  Cleanse our hearts, renew our minds, refresh our souls with your new mercies, and continually restore the joy and peace of us in you and you in us as we tell others about you.  I believe, in good times and bad, I give you thanks.

In Jesus Name, Amen