07/21/2025
"Why not just give up?"
Maybe someone has asked you that before during a particularly tough time. Maybe you've asked it of yourself.
Then you read through a passage like this in 2 Corinthians 4: "We are pressed but not crushed, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed..."
You might wonder, "How could Paul write those words? Was he just naturally more mentally tough than I am?"
What we come to find out in the rest of the chapter, though, is that the power to persevere came not from inside himself, but by the power of God working in and through him. As he identified more closely with Jesus's suffering and death on the cross, he could see through to the resurrection of Jesus and his own redemption and the relief it brought to his soul.
For us, the same can be true. On the outside, we might be facing pressures and heartaches and trials no one else can imagine. But in our spirits, if we have fully trusted Christ and wholeheartedly devote ourselves to Him, we will be renewed daily because His love and mercy never run out on us.
So put these words in your heart so that you'll be ready to persevere - not just to build up some fake "mental toughness," but to truly know who you are so you can be confident that whatever comes, you are going to be all right.
-Pastor Justin
