Intro: Every day I take time to praise and celebrate Christ coming into my life. He brings the Wisdom and resources of heaven [grace] that I so desperately need moment by moment. Christ is my Champion; He guides my faith and helps me to understand the problems I face are all due to sin in the world—the world constantly wages war against the Light of Truth [John 1:5; Rev 17:14]. Truly, we wrestle with sin every day either in ourselves, in others, or in the rebellious and arrogant atmosphere of this fallen world. It requires a fight for the true faith—we must take hold of eternal life to experience victory [1 Timothy 6:12].
Christ is definitely the eternal Strength to endure difficult times. In his teaching, Jesus warned his followers there would be tribulation in the world, but he also promised to be our eternal Peace and Overcomer! [John 16:33]. When we recognize the eternal Christ is the One who brings our lives the greatest value, nothing this temporal world has to offer will compare and we will not lose heart or quit our journey of faith [Phil 3:7-11]. We will press on!
In our passage today, the Apostle Paul understands what it is like to face criticism, trials and suffering, but he teaches us not to look at the pain those things cause; rather, we must fix our focus on the goal of living by faith in Christ who is our Champion. Honestly, pain and suffering are hard to ignore. But, when we are weak, we can enjoy the resurrected strength and power of the enteral Christ. His power is made perfect in our weakness [2 Cor 12:10]. As you look at this coming new year, remember believers live in Christ and you are called to be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power [Eph 6:10]. Happy New Year!
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT
16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits [our inner being] are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for being my Champion. I want my faith in you to grow; so, when I am weak, please make me strong. Help me to be an overcomer in your Mighty Hand. In Jesus’ name. Amen.