Next Steps Devo – Day 1
Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Suffering and affliction may not be the most user-friendly passage to start a Bible reading plan. Then again, it is Monday. Perhaps some background will help illuminate why this passage provides the best point of origin for this journey. Paul (a Jewish Pharisee turned Christ follower, global church planter, and biblical author) is penning this letter to a first-century church located in the town of Corinth. One of the central themes of this particular letter is the relationship between suffering and the calling to share the good news of Jesus.
The bad news: The Bible is pretty clear that suffering is not just misfortune but rather a promise for those who follow Jesus. Hang in there with us; there is good news. God meets the believer in our suffering. Don’t skim over that sentence. The all-powerful, omnipotent, omnipresent, sovereign God is not absent and removed from your pain. In fact, He knows your pain exactly. He, in the sending of His son, Jesus, has intimately experienced every temptation and pain that we will experience. Our comfort is not in the absence of pain but in the presence of God as we experience pain. Our pain has a purpose, but more on that on Wednesday!
How does today’s reading of 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 challenge or affirm your view of suffering in life? Have you ever considered suffering as beneficial or even as a gift? How would viewing suffering this way change or challenge the way you currently perceive God?
Today’s Prayer:
God, thank you for being a God who is empathetic and present. I ask that you help me see you in the difficult circumstances of life and rejoice in you where your grace has already allowed me to see that. I ask that you use my struggles to refine my faith and lead me to a fuller joy. In all things, I pray that you continue to shape me into the image of your son. Amen.