8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8-9
There’s a show called Downton Abbey, and within this show, one of the main characters’ husband dies in a car crash right after she gives birth. He was on his way home to get the rest of the family to see their new baby boy, but he never made it home. That destroyed this main character. She was once strong and confident, but now she is scared and unsure of herself. She and her brother-in-law, who lost his wife (her sister) during childbirth, get into an argument of sorts one day, and this is what he told her:
You’re frightened of being hurt again. But let me tell you this. You will be hurt again, and so will I, because being hurt is part of being alive.
Pain is a part of this life. It was never intended for mankind, but it has become an unavoidable part of our lives since Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden. Pain is an unavoidable side effect of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden. We can’t erase it. We can’t run away from it. It’s something that each one of us has to go through. We have to endure, lest it consume us, as it did the main character of Downton Abbey.
She gave up on work as well as love. She just gave up in life, completely. The fact of the matter is life is hard. It’s easy to give up. It’s easy to allow pain and suffering to consume us, but that’s not our destiny. That’s not what God has called us to. Yes, pain and suffering is unavoidable, but succumbing to them is a choice.
We, the Church, the body of Christ, are blessed and highly favored. We are the very bride of Christ. We may be struck down, but we are not destroyed. We may be persecuted, but we are not abandoned. We are in the hands of the Living God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. He is the Good Shepherd who has given Himself for His sheep.
Therefore, when troubles come our way that begin to weigh us down and try to consume us, we have to lift the burdens off of us and lay them at the feet of Jesus. We have to cast our anxieties upon Him because He cares for us.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Succumb.
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