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...But Not...

 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. (II Corinthians 4:7-12)

 

I’ve commented on this passage recently, I know, but this morning, I feel the need to return to it considering yesterday’s musings. To begin with, I don’t pretend that what we face today is anywhere near the level of difficulty faced by the folks in the First Century. I doubt that ninety percent of the population of the world would describe me as “suffering.” Or, if I am, it’s my fault for being foolish.

Last evening as I was walking my dog and praying, I fell into one of my habitual bouts of whining. I needed God’s help because I’m such a miserable wretch, blah, blah, blah. I thought about yesterday’s passage, and the idea that God is the solution, I decided I needed to speak and exercise faith. I probably hadn’t taken ten steps before I was back to blah blah blah. Put simply, there are some deep “negative thinking” ruts in my mind, and just saying “be positive” doesn’t fix them.

That means that I can spend a lot of time saying, “Eek! One of them!” and chasing them around my mind with a fly swatter, making the focus of my life the terrible, nasty, evil, wicked, negative thoughts that must be exterminated. Given today’s weeding session, I suspect that I can think of these negative thoughts like Bidens alba (Beggartick, Spanish Needle) seeds – touch the plant and you’re likely to be covered in little seeds with two teeth that have to be picked off one’s clothing individually. I can consider every negative thought as evidence that there is something very wrong in my life…A.G.A.I.N.

Or, I can realize that being pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down is normal. It’s what we’re supposed to expect. What we’re promised is that even if we feel pressed, we won’t be crushed. If we feel perplexed, we don’t need to despair. If we feel persecuted, that doesn’t mean we’ve been abandoned. And being struck down (defeated) doesn’t mean we’re destroyed. There is hope in spite of all of these. It’s OK to feel the former way, especially if we can learn to have the feeling remind us that they’re just feelings, not conclusions.

This doesn’t require that we mope, whine, or stoically accept “this is my lot in life, sigh.” But, as with the sins over which we say “Eek!” these are meant to draw us closer to God. We’re meant to take them to Him, and to grow more mature, stronger, more flexible, and more faithful though them. 

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