2 Corinthians 4

Whenever I have a person approach me asking for direction regarding whether God is calling that individual into the ministry I always remember the words given to me thirty years ago by my pastor.  He said, “Make sure you know that God is calling you into this ministry.  Write it down!  There will be days when you feel as though giving up.  However, if you know without a doubt that God has called you to the ministry then you will never be able to give up that calling.”  What my pastor was saying is you will have days when things are tough and you want to give up.  However, you will not be happy doing anything but what God has called you to do.

I wonder if this is what Paul is going through as he writes chapter 4.  In the first verse he writes, “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not give up.”  He cannot give up on the High Calling of Christ Jesus on his life because of the calling but also because of the great mercy given unto him.  Each of us has a calling from God; some are called to vocational ministry and others to lay ministry.  However, the calling is still on our lives as children of God and we cannot abandon this call or our lives will be unfulfilled and miserable.  Are you fulfilling your calling?  Are you serving God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength?  Are you giving unto God your best in all things?  Winston Churchill told the Harrow School on October 29, 1941, “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never -- in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”  This quote is very apropos for what Paul is stating in chapter 4, especially as he moves into the next section dealing with the treasures in clay jars.

We see Paul giving a detail to which many fellow believers could probably relate; "We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed." maybe you have had one of those days where you feel as though you have been pressured from all sides. Maybe you have felt as though you have been beaten up everywhere you turn. Remember our Lord promised us that if we served Him we would be enemies to the world which would hate and persecute us. What a privilege that we could and should bear the persecution and hardships for being a servant of God! Remember the words of Paul in v. 16-17, "Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.".

Takeaways
1. Our afflictions and hardships should be a badge of honor for serving our Lord.
2. Our afflictions and hardships are but temporary.
3. Never quit or give up!