Quickened
July 10th, 2004, 12:44 PM
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/127/story_12764_1.html
If we’re going to study the life of Paul and learn lessons from his life and ministry, a major lesson to be learned is how to respond to pressure. I use pressure and hardship interchangeably. The way he responded to hardship is the way I want to respond. Rarely do any of us face adversity with such determined resolve. We view hardship as an unpleasant interruption. It’s an unfair circumstance brought upon us by difficult people or oppressive situations.
Paul responded differently. His secret of endurance lay in his “divine perspective.” Let’s explore that idea.
He Trusted God Alone
Paul allowed the affliction to strengthen his trust in God alone. He writes, “Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us” (1:9–10).
He has delivered us, He is delivering us, He will deliver us. Get the picture? He focused on God’s ability to handle the circumstances from start to finish. That freed him to lean on and tap into God’s power alone.
I think the apostle reached the place where he realized he wasn’t capable of altering anything. He wasn’t competent enough to fix the problem or smart enough to solve the mystery. His confidence drained away to the point he despaired of life itself. At that critical juncture he found supernatural strength by looking up. He said, “Lord, right now I am unable to go on. I’m not capable. I’m not competent. I’m not confident in anything in myself to relieve this pressure. I trust You and You alone.” That’s what I call “divine perspective.” Grit under pressure.
Paul's Grit Under Pressure
We don’t have the power we need to face life’s worst blasts. Left to ourselves we cave in. The kind of power we need comes from God only, regardless of our circumstances. To describe his life of ministry, he used words like afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down. That was Paul’s life as an ambassador for Christ. More often than not, he was like a sheep ready for slaughter. Any takers?
Again, it’s not his affliction we admire, but how he handled it. That’s the greatness we appreciate. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in our body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:8–11).
In my more-than-thirty-year study of Paul, I’ve discovered he never once blamed God for his affliction. He never shook his fist at the heavens in frustration. I find that absolutely incredible. He received it all as part of his commitment to Christ and trusted God to handle those moments when he came to the breaking point. He confidently relied on his Lord. What a wonderful response. But there was another dimension to Paul’s perspective.
His Focus Remained on Things Unseen
Paul viewed whatever happened to him through the eyes of faith. That remarkable trait allows him to be numbered among giants of the faith like Moses, who according to Hebrews 11, “left Egypt,
If we’re going to study the life of Paul and learn lessons from his life and ministry, a major lesson to be learned is how to respond to pressure. I use pressure and hardship interchangeably. The way he responded to hardship is the way I want to respond. Rarely do any of us face adversity with such determined resolve. We view hardship as an unpleasant interruption. It’s an unfair circumstance brought upon us by difficult people or oppressive situations.
Paul responded differently. His secret of endurance lay in his “divine perspective.” Let’s explore that idea.
He Trusted God Alone
Paul allowed the affliction to strengthen his trust in God alone. He writes, “Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us” (1:9–10).
He has delivered us, He is delivering us, He will deliver us. Get the picture? He focused on God’s ability to handle the circumstances from start to finish. That freed him to lean on and tap into God’s power alone.
I think the apostle reached the place where he realized he wasn’t capable of altering anything. He wasn’t competent enough to fix the problem or smart enough to solve the mystery. His confidence drained away to the point he despaired of life itself. At that critical juncture he found supernatural strength by looking up. He said, “Lord, right now I am unable to go on. I’m not capable. I’m not competent. I’m not confident in anything in myself to relieve this pressure. I trust You and You alone.” That’s what I call “divine perspective.” Grit under pressure.
Paul's Grit Under Pressure
We don’t have the power we need to face life’s worst blasts. Left to ourselves we cave in. The kind of power we need comes from God only, regardless of our circumstances. To describe his life of ministry, he used words like afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down. That was Paul’s life as an ambassador for Christ. More often than not, he was like a sheep ready for slaughter. Any takers?
Again, it’s not his affliction we admire, but how he handled it. That’s the greatness we appreciate. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in our body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:8–11).
In my more-than-thirty-year study of Paul, I’ve discovered he never once blamed God for his affliction. He never shook his fist at the heavens in frustration. I find that absolutely incredible. He received it all as part of his commitment to Christ and trusted God to handle those moments when he came to the breaking point. He confidently relied on his Lord. What a wonderful response. But there was another dimension to Paul’s perspective.
His Focus Remained on Things Unseen
Paul viewed whatever happened to him through the eyes of faith. That remarkable trait allows him to be numbered among giants of the faith like Moses, who according to Hebrews 11, “left Egypt,