Next Steps Devo – February 14
Paul is coming out strong with another gut check this morning. “Afflicted in every way,” for Paul, it looked like walking away from fortune and power to be a Christian nomad on a mission, multiple prison stays, a few years of house arrest, being beaten and left for dead, shipwrecked, and ultimately ending in martyrdom in Rome. Yeah, that’s a good deal of “afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.”
How is Paul’s response to all of this to remain hopeful? The answer is found in verse 10. Paul lives a life with eternity in view. He is not the sum of his circumstances. He is instead a new, unflappable identity that has been given through Christ. The other noteworthy thing that we find in this morning’s passage is that this eternal hope is displayed in temporary circumstances.
Life promises difficulty, but for the believer, an eternal hope allows trials to transform into an opportunity to display that hope. The question we must answer is how we, like Paul, can hold onto Jesus when every one of life’s circumstances seems to jump in the way. You have resources in this battle; connect with other believers, connect with God through prayer and study, and make note of His past faithfulness. Your testimony of hope echoes loudly when all of the world screams that your hope should be gone, and yet it isn’t.
Have you ever experienced God’s faithfulness during a season of suffering? Do you spend time recalling those moments now?
Today’s Prayer: God, thank you for the eternal hope that you have provided. Help me to rest in the new identity you have given me when the world calls me to despair or rejoice in temporary things. Lord, I pray that you would help me find people who can encourage me to recall all the ways you have been faithful. Assist me in living hopefully even in seemingly hopeless seasons. I ask all of this so that you may be glorified through my life. Amen.