8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair.
2 Corinthians 4:8 (CSB)
1. Pressed by life, we press on.
8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (CSB)
22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death. 24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. 28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? 30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying.
2 Corinthians 11:22-31 (CSB)
16 Though a righteous person falls seven times, he will get up, but the wicked will stumble into ruin.
Proverbs 24:16 (CSB)
28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:28-29 (CSB)
2. Our perseverance reveals Jesus.
10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body.
2 Corinthians 4:10 (CSB)
11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.
2 Corinthians 4:11-12 (CSB)
31 Even some of the provincial officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent word to him, pleading with him not to venture into the amphitheater.
Acts 19:31 (CSB)
3. Our belief fuels our endurance.
13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, ,we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you.
2 Corinthians 4:13-14 (CSB)
15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God.
2 Corinthians 4:15 (CSB)
4. Our eyes stay on the eternal prize.
16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (CSB)