Enabled by God

Meditations on Second Corinthians

April 12, 2023

Enabled by God

It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:21a

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:15-22

In today’s passage, Paul deals with an issue in the Corinthian church. Paul had promised to come for a visit, but circumstances prevented him from coming and the church doubted his truthfulness. Thinking of Paul’s difficulty, I recalled a meditation from James 4 from earlier this year in the Season of Lent.

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)

This passage from James 4 is an acknowledgement that our lives belong to God, and, thus, we seek God’s wisdom and leading in all that we do. Cheryl and I seek to follow this principal by often praying, “Lord, order our steps.”

Verse 21, quoted above is a constant theme of the Apostle Paul’s writings, i.e.,

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6)

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:13)

My Takeaway: Consider God’s proactive work in us: God enables us to stand firm in Christ; God who began the good work in us, will continue until His work is finished; God is giving us both the desire and the power to live lives pleasing to Him.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.