Feeling Down?

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 2 Cor 4:8,9

These verses are a source of great encouragement to anyone who feels put down or depressed, and I think we can all identify with feeling low and almost abandoned by life (and God?) at times. Paul had reason to feel orphaned by God. Remember this was the same man who hounded and killed early Christians, and the same God who knocked him from his horse and blinded him to get his attention!

Fast forward to today. We in the ‘west’ are cossetted and protected by the laws of our lands, and freedoms, for which our forefathers fought. Now we don’t need to exercise our faith, and as a result that faith does not have the sense of urgency it demands. We don’t have to lean or depend on our God, so we don’t have to really test Him. Have you/we ever been abandoned or struck down because you stood up for Jesus? No, I didn’t think so. The worst that might happen is that we will be laughed at, or ignored. Sometimes I fear that our ‘fought for’ Christian freedoms are under attack, and that it may not be too long until they are eroded and we have to stand up and be counted. Will I/we be ready?

So, next time you think you are hard done to by life, and it makes you feel a bit low, remember there are those Christians who do not have the luxury of laws to protect their freedom to worship. The result is that these unfortunate folks may have to put their lives on the line for believing in Jesus, and in order to survive have to keep their faith active and real. I think what I am trying to say is, ‘...be thankful, quit moaning and appreciate all those faith freedoms we enjoy, while we can’!