FRIDAY April 19th
Romans 8:37-39
‘No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
Well, following on from yesterday, Paul could make this conclusion for himself, ‘No, in all these things I AM more than a conqueror’. Can we say the same? As I mentioned in the previous devotion, I can imagine Paul thinking back to the time when the Lord sent Ananias to him, and hearing the message concerning how he MUST suffer for the sake of the name of Jesus. He would recall how he had been towards those who followed in the Way, he would have known what the cost was to follow Jesus, he would then have suddenly realised, ‘now it’s going to happen to me’. Not it may happen, but it will happen for the Lord had said ‘how much he MUST suffer for the sake of my name’.
And Paul immediately proclaimed the name of Jesus, for Acts 9:20 says ‘And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying “He is the Son of God.”’
There is absolutely no doubt that Paul was going to count the cost, follow Jesus and no turning back. As we saw in the previous devotion from 2 Corinthians 6, he did suffer for the sake of the name of Jesus, in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 Paul gives another comprehensive list of the many ways in which he had suffered, ‘Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.’
How on earth did he cope, how on earth would we? As I have mentioned previously, we actually understand very little of what it truly means to suffer for the sake of the gospel, or for the sake of the name of Jesus, I actually feel ashamed when I stop and consider the silly little things that I may have got uptight over, or upset about, or frustrated about, they are insignificant in comparison to how Paul suffered and of how many of our brothers and sisters have suffered over the years and many are suffering today in many parts of the world.
Well to answer the question as to how did Paul cope, one answer follows on in the next chapter in 2 Corinthians, it follows on from when Paul had what we call a thorn in his flesh, he had pleaded with the Lord to take it away, and this was the response in verses 9-10 ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.’
The grace that SAVES us is also SUFFICIENT for us in times of trial. The amazing, abounding, astonishing grace, the grace of God.