Hope for the HurtingSample

DAY 3

The apostle Paul took his commitment to telling the truth seriously. That’s why we read in his own words a pretty stark summation of his life, showing how God has cared for him amidst a mass of suffering, as found in 2 Corinthians 1.

In contemporary language, that would be classified as severe depression. There’s no way to sugar-coat someone writing that they “despaired even of life.” And yet, what I find interesting in all of this is that Paul is also probably the most mature Christian who has ever lived. He stands head and shoulders above most others when it comes to boldly declaring the faith, representing Jesus and suffering for His cause.

I want to remind all of us whose hearts may hurt that we are not talking about a bad man in pain when we reference Paul and learn from him. We are looking at a good man hurting—a godly man hurting. He’s a man hurting even as a result of the things he was doing to advance God’s kingdom in the world!

See, a lot of believers think that if they follow Jesus, serve Him and love Him, they are not supposed to hurt.

This world comes with trouble. It just does. The sooner we can accept that reality and stop ourselves from trying to spiritualize every painful situation, loss or difficulty we encounter, we will be better positioned to weather it well.

People get sick on this planet. People die. People get abused. Go hungry. Lose relationships. Accidents happen. Careers go south. Loneliness lingers. As I referenced earlier, Jesus reminded us that this world comes with troubles and tribulations (John 16:33). But the difference for kingdom followers comes in knowing that because of Jesus in us, we can overcome the onslaught of hurtful scenarios we face.