NEVERTHELESS
2
Corinthians 7:5-6
5.
For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were
troubled on every side. Outside were
conflicts, inside were fears.
6. Nevertheless
God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus
There are times in
our Christian walk that it seems no matter what direction we turn trouble is
there to greet us. The pressure
sometimes seems to come from every side. When
this happens we can easily fall into the trap of blaming God or others for the
circumstances.
In the above scripture we find Paul in a situation that we often find
ourselves in. He was tired.
He had been ministering night and day with very little rest and his body
was tired. Everywhere he looked
there were conflicts. He was hard
pressed, troubled, afflicted and distressed.
Have you ever felt like that? You
are trying to do all that God wants
you to do. Doing the best you know
how and everywhere you turn there’s trouble.
Not only was there trouble outside but there was a battle going on
inside. Paul went on to say,
“outside were conflicts, inside were fears.”
It’s bad enough when things are coming at us from the world but then
fear begins to set in.
FEAR, the feeling that is probably the biggest destroyer of Christians.
It stops more people from receiving from God than any other thing.
The feeling of fear came into existence after the fall of Adam.
In 1 John
1:18
the Bible tells us, “fear involves torment.”
And in 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us the spirit of fear.”
Fear destroys faith.
Paul fought the same feelings we all have.
Sometimes we get to thinking these things only happen to us.
That there must be something wrong with our walk with God or this
wouldn’t be happening. But here
the same things were happening in Paul’s life.
Paul the Apostle, Paul the one who wrote two thirds of the New Testament.
Things happened to him, just as they happen to us.
Paul is telling us that whenever things look the worst.
When fear begins to take hold. When
it looks as though our faith will not be enough.
When we feel that God has turned His back on us.
God has not left, He has the answer.
When it looks like all our hopes and dreams are about to be destroyed,
NEVERTHELESS GOD.
With all these things attacking Paul, he responds with these words,
NEVERTHELESS GOD. When the future
looked dark, NEVERTHELESS GOD. When
it looked as though the world and all its cares were about to take control,
NEVERTHELESS GOD.
2
Corinthians 1:3-4
3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and God of all comfort,
4
who comforts us
in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any
trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
God,
who comforts us in our tribulation. This
word comfort means to exhort or to strengthen.
When we are about to be overtaken God is always there with the way out.
Sometimes
we forget that God is there. In Deuteronomy
31:6, the Lord said, “Be
strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD
your God, He is the One who goes with you he will not leave you or forsake
you.
Many
times we forget these words, God has not changed, He is still the same.
He will never leave us. We
can choose to leave Him, but He will not leave us.
He is always there in time of trouble, Psalms 27:5, “For
in the time of trouble He shall
hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide
me; He shall set me high upon a rock.”
There is no power in heaven or in earth that can come between us and
God except fear and unbelief and that can only come through our willingness to
except them. Paul teaches us a
wonderful lesson in these verses. Everyone
comes under pressure, trouble, conflict and tribulation in this world.
These things should not have control of our lives.
Because in all these things, NEVERTHELESS GOD.
Dewayne
