2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”
When we are born into this world, we are born with flesh
bodies. And these flesh bodies have aches and pains, and they can get damaged,
sometimes beyond repair. We cry when we hurt, or at least some of us do. Some
people get angry or they escape when they are in pain. We get sick with
viruses. We have people who hurt us physically and/or emotionally. And
sometimes we do literally groan from all our aches and pains and sorrows.
We are also born into this world with sin natures in the
image of Adam. And so we are born with a bent toward sin and with a propensity
to sin against God. And we are separate from God and we have no power within
ourselves to be acceptable to God, no matter how many good deeds we may do. And
so God sent Jesus Christ, God the Son, to the earth ultimately to die on a
cross for our sins so we could be delivered from our slavery to sin.
He sent Jesus to die on that cross that we might die with
him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. Jesus died that we might
no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us on that
cross and for him who was resurrected from the dead that we might live with
him. And Jesus shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to
redeem us) so that we would now honor God with our bodies (with our lives).
And by God-given faith in Jesus Christ we are, thus,
crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ to
newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness. Our old self is crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin
might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin but
to God and to his righteousness, which then results in eternal life with God.
[Rom 3:23; Rom 5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49; Rom 6:1-23; Rom
8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Lu 9:23-26; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Co
6:19-20]
2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ESV
“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
Now, life can get really tough sometimes, or for some people
it is all the time. And we may begin to lose courage, and to get disheartened
or to fear what might happen to us or what is happening to us. For, we may be
under the weight of enormous negative pressure from outside sources or circumstances.
And we may be facing a lot of rejection and disapproval from friends, family,
or from other Christians. And it may sadden our hearts.
So, this is to encourage us to walk by faith and not by
sight. For if we walk by sight it is so easy to just want to “throw in the towel”
and to give up and to run away. For we are not always going to see the results
of our walks of faith. And some of the results that we do see may not be all
that promising, and they may, in fact, be painful and hurtful. But we can’t go
by what is seen, but we must walk in the Spirit even when we can’t see what God
is doing. We must trust the Lord that he has all things under his control.
It is good to long for Jesus and for our heavenly dwelling
and to look forward with great anticipation to the day he comes to take us home
to be with him for eternity, which is the hope for all those who are doing the
will of God and who are not still walking in deliberate and habitual sin. But
we must also recognize that our Lord put us on this earth for a purpose and so
we are to be about following after his purpose and will while we still live on
this earth.
We must not get so caught up in sorrow over this life to the
point to where all we can think about is going home to heaven. We need to
remain focused on why God still has us here. And we need to be people of God
who are listening to the Spirit’s voice and who are following Jesus Christ in
obedience to his ways and to his commands (New Covenant). And we need to allow
the Lord to use us in the ways he intended for us from before we were born.
And if we are walking by sight and not by faith, we won’t
make it. There will always be an obstacle in our way to keep us from obeying
the Lord, and to keep us from doing his will. But when we walk by faith those
obstacles are not deterrents for us because we know God is in control. And we
know that where the Lord has called us, he will provide, and he can open any
door that men close and he can close any door that men open. So our lives are
totally in his hands, and if he wants us to continue, he will make the way for
us.
But while we are still living on this earth, our lives are
to be surrendered to Jesus Christ to doing his will. Our aim should be to
please the Lord in all that we do, and not to just please ourselves. For we
aren’t put here on this earth for our own self-pleasure but that our lives
might be pleasing to God, and that we might do the will of God, and that we
might forsake our sins and walk in the ways of the Lord in obeying his
commands.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so
that each one of us may receive what is due us for what we have done in the
body, whether good or evil. And this applies to all of us, whether we are Christians
or not. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction.
But if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life.
For God’s grace, his love, his forgiveness, and his salvation are all conditional
upon us walking in obedience to our Lord and not in sin.
Give
Me Courage, Lord
An
Original Work / November 13, 2013
Based
off Various Scriptures
Do not let your hearts grow weary,
For your work will be rewarded.
Be strong; let your hearts take courage.
Do not fear but wait on Jesus.
Be strong and very courageous,
For your God will go before you.
Do not fear. He will not leave you.
Wait for Him. He’ll not forsake you.
Be careful to do what He says.
Do not turn away from your Lord.
Take courage! You’ll be His witness,
For God will guide and protect you.
So we are always encouraged.
We walk by faith and not vision.
We make it our aim to please Him,
So in Christ, we glorify Him.
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