Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-10

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. 3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Not only does God’s light have the power to supersede the darkest night but it also shines.

2. After the strongest Storm

Paul reminds us of the severity of the storms that we will walk through in this life, as he reminds us of the pressures, perplexities, and pain he himself went through. Bad days come sweeping in like a sudden squall or a torrential torrent. When the storm strikes the lights go out, the skies blacken and we are engulfed in the storm’s darkness. What is the storm you are in, the storm that is surrounding you and trying to drown you? Is it a failed marriage? Is it a grim prognosis from the doctor? Is it the loss of a job? Is it depression, despair, and defeat? Is it fear, anxiety, and worry? We need to remember that even in the chaos Christ is still in control. From the moment the storm came crashing into your life and broke the calm to this day God has still been faithful. No matter how strong the storm is the sun will shine after the storm. Janet Paschal  in her song “It Won’t Rain Always” writes:

Someone said that in each life some rain is bound to fall

And each one sheds his share of tears

And trouble troubles us all

But the hurt can’t hurt forever

And the tears are sure to dry

 

And it won’t rain always

The clouds will soon be gone

The sun that they’ve been hiding has been there all along

 

And it won’t rain always

God’s promises are true

The sun’s gonna shine in His own good time

And He will see you through

While we long for the sun to shine and it will, we need to realize that often the storms help us to appreciate the sunshine more. When projected pictures are going to be viewed by an audience, the projectionist darkens the room in which the people are seated, so that the pictures may be more clearly seen. Sometimes God darkens our place on earth, by putting out the light and hope in this world so that we can better see the splendor and glories of a better place that he has prepared. One of the worst storms I went through was on the way to the airport during a ground blizzard. When it hit our visibility was reduced to zero. Suddenly we were blinded in the white-out of the storm. We had to slow way down but we couldn’t stop for fear of being rear ended by the vehicles following behind us. We were reduced to a crawl as we white-knuckled it and tried to keep the car on the road and stay in the proper lane. For several hours we struggled through the storm until we finally arrived weary and worn out. We dropped the person we were taking at the airport and made the decision to stayed overnight and much to our amazement the next morning we walked out to clear skies and the sunshine. When you find yourself in the midst of a storm, don’t stop, don’t try to rush ahead, keep alert keep your focus on the destination not on the difficulty, press on in prayer. It is often in our darkest nights that God makes His presence most clearly known. We may not like the trials but we can savor the time spent with the Savior. Our joy is not in the junk or even in the journey it is in Jesus. No matter how dark the despair know that the sun will rise and that our hope is in Him not in our happenings.