We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed! (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) Chile that alone is a devotional in itself. Yea, God says you will have trouble on every side YET don’t worry because it can’t stop what I’ve placed in front of you. God says you may be perplexed or confused but that’s alright because you won’t be without hope. God says, yes they may persecute you, even scandalize your name but you won’t abandoned, cast down or forgotten neither destroyed. So what if you get pushed down, get up! So what if you fall, get up! Baby, you need to learn the weeble wobble dance. You know that game at the fair that no matter how hard you hit it, it never stays down. Well, you need to get like it because God made you with the same mechanism inside of you. Yea, you need to learn how to lean when things weigh you down but then bounce back up. I know you’re tired of getting knocked six steps back but baby rear back (that means you got knocked over) and then get up. When folk hurt you that’s just you being knocked down, bounce back up. When you get laid off that’s just you being knocked down, bounce back up. When you get sick and man says you can’t get well that’s just you being knocked down, bounce back up. When man says no that’s just you being knocked down, bounce back up. When that door closes, that’s just you being knocked down, bounce back up. Yes, it’s easy to stay down once you’ve been knocked down but oh the joy you feel when you get up is that unexplainable joy, that unspeakable joy you hear grandma singing about and that uncontainable joy you hear pastor preaching about but you have to get up to feel it.
Beloved listen, the bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” What is this jar of clay? It’s us. What is this treasure? It’s the light of God that shall not be dimmed. Are we troubled? Yes, mostly everyday but God is our refuge and our help if we try Him. Will your legs shake, yes but they won’t give out. Will you get knocked down again, probably but you still have that same mechanism built into you that allows you to bounce back. And get this … It’s never goes out, it never gets worn, it never rust, it never gets recalled and it never fails because the manufacturer never goes out of business! Try it and you’ll find that it works, EVERY TIME!
Lakisha, the Author 