DOWN BUT NOT OUT
2 Corinthians 4:8–9
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…
Before
you were a Christian, when something sad or bad happened to you, you
cried until you had no more tears left. Your heart simply broke into
pieces, and you felt trapped, depressed and totally defeated.
But
after having become a Christian, when something bad happens to you, you
may still cry, but you feel comforted inside. You are sad outwardly, but
your heart isn’t heavy. You don’t understand why, but deep down inside
you, there is something lifting you up. That something buoyant, which is
rising from the inside of you, is the life of Christ in you!
You
cannot be completely distressed because Christ in you is the Prince of
Peace (Isaiah 9:6) who says to you, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I
give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Yes, it may
be a bad situation and you are in a tight spot, but Christ in you is the
way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), and He says to you, “It will
all be all right. I will provide a way out for you.”
You know you
are not defeated because Christ in you is your victory (1 Corinthians
15:57) and He says to you, “You are not fighting for victory, but fighting from victory because you already have the victory in Me.”
Before
you knew Christ, when you were down, you were out. But now, when you
are down, you are not out because Christ in you is the hope of glory.
(Colossians 1:27) “Hope” in the Bible means a definite, positive
expectation of good.
So Christ in you is the definite, positive
expectation of a glorious marriage! Christ in you is the definite,
positive expectation of a glorious family! Christ in you is the definite
positive expectation of glorious health! Christ in you is the definite
positive expectation of a glorious life!
My friend, Christ in you
is the definite, positive expectation of all the glories of God revealed
to you. No bad circumstance that you are in can or will ever cause you
to be destroyed or forsaken by God!
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