Guidelines For Living

Harold Sala: Do you think you have problems? I suspect you wouldn't trade your challenges for those that confronted the Apostle Paul. Of the 13 books that he wrote, none is more intimate or personal than his second letter to the Corinthians. In this he wrote: "We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed."

What Paul faced would have sent the average person into either deep depression or flight. But Paul not only took it in stride, he actually seemed to grow with it. In the same letter, Paul said, "Therefore, we do not lose heart." And in the same passage, he said it twice for emphasis.

He used an interesting word which is translated "to lose heart." It's found only three times in the New Testament. Each time it was, yes, Paul who used the word. It's also found in his letter to the Ephesians where it is translated "to be discouraged."

How could he be under such tremendous pressure, struck down, crushed and perplexed, and yet actually stay on top of things? Paul knew some things about trials, not only through personal experience, but also through the study of God's Word as a rabbi. So what did Paul know that we don't know? Listen carefully: these five truths can sustain you in a dark situation.

Number one: Paul knew that trials accomplish the purpose of God. He knew that life is a battle, but God is with us in the fight. Peter wrote: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." No, God had not forsaken Paul. The enemy had come out against him in full strength.

Two: Paul had confidence that God would sustain him in times of great difficulty. Make a note of Isaiah 43 where God says: "When you go through the waters I will be with you. When you go through the flood it will not drown you. When you face the fire you will not be burned." It was a foregone conclusion that as Jesus told the disciples, in the world, we will face persecution.

Three: Paul could face trouble because he knew we are residents of a kingdom that cannot be shaken. An invisible kingdom which cannot be destroyed from without. Hebrews 12 says: "Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."

Four: Paul knew that God would have the last word. Sometimes it looks as though evil has triumphed in the world. Never did things look more bleak and dark than during the Holocaust. Yet eventually evil was pushed back and truth prevailed.

Five: Paul also knew that we have a home in heaven. He wrote: "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven not built by human hands."

Paul Scholl's mother was an American missionary, his father a Chinese doctor. And during the Cultural Revolution in China, the entire family became a target of persecution. For nine long months, Paul was kept in total darkness. Eventually he was allowed to leave and he later wrote that what he missed the most were the quiet, intimate moments he had with Jesus during solitary confinement.

How can you lose heart when you know the shepherd of your soul walks with you, no matter where you are, no matter what you face? That indeed is good news. We will not lose heart.

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