Remember the Battering
So, we're remembering 2022 and we remembered the blessings yesterday. But today let's do something a little more difficult and remember the battering that we took in 2022.
It really was a tough year. A lot of you are struggling with grief and loss. There was a lot of sickness. A lot of you are struggling with cancer, surgery, illnesses and struggles in your body. You've taken a battering. Some of you are financially struggling. Some of you have had difficult times at work, difficult relationships.
Well, let's look back and remember those and see particularly the way God helped us through those difficult times.
Endurance Amid Trials
I imagine that Paul, whenever he looked back on journeys that he'd gone through, remembered the batterings that he took. In 2 Corinthians 4, he spoke to the people about the difficulties that he faced and he said “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed. We're perplexed, but not in despair. We're persecuted, but we're not abandoned. We're struck down, but we're not destroyed.”
And friends, you're here at the end of the year, and I know that the same is true for you. You've been hard pressed this year, but you're not crushed. You're still going. You've been persecuted, but God hasn't abandoned you. You may have been struck down, but you haven't been destroyed. Because you are in Christ, and because you know the grace of God, you have persevered.
And so you can look back on the batterings and you can echo the words of Paul in verse 16 of that chapter where he says “We do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
Eternal Glory Ahead
Remember the batterings, friends, but be glad that God has renewed you day by day. And even here at the end of a difficult year, you don't need to lose heart. Because the batterings you've faced are achieving for you an eternal glory which far outweighs the pain of this life.
