I was counselling with a lady the other day whose world was falling apart. She was angry at her spouse for a decision he made. They were going through a financial struggle. Her kids, her health, her hope, her faith…everything seemed to be collapsing. Yeah, I understood so well…how many times have we all been there…in that situation? A couple days before talking to her, I was crying out to God in the same way. I asked the Holy Spirit to speak to me through His Word and clear up my situation. After praying, I opened up to:

2 Corinthians 6:3-10 (New Living Translation)
Paul’s Hardships
3 We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. 4 In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us,[a] and by our sincere love. 7 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. 9 We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. 10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.

(The italics are my own doings.) I asked myself…Have I really been patiently enduring these troubles and hardships? Have I been willing to serve, forgive, and encourage even when there is slander or negative comments from others?
As I read and re-read this, I was thinking that I really AM NOT and HAVE NOT suffered to the extent that Paul did and, I probably never will! (Thank God!)
The last verse brought healing…(my interpretations) Our troubles are weighty, they make us sad, but we have the Joy of the Lord. Who can take that away from us? We might be poor or we may not have all the things we want, but we can encourage others with His Word and give THEM the riches of our faith. And the bottom line is…in Christ we are complete! AMEN!