ODJ: Loss and Fear

March 3, 2018 

READ: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18 

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! (v.17).

When the radio station I worked for relocated, I was suddenly out of a job. Although qualified as a teacher, hosting radio shows had felt like a better fit and it was all I’d done since graduating. When I couldn’t find employment back on-air, however, I returned to the classroom. It was difficult. I felt out of my depth, and theexperience humbled me. But although the adjustment was challenging, I’m convinced the skills I gained in the classroom prepared me for my next job—back in radio with a national broadcaster.

The loss of a job can trigger some of our deepest fears and insecurities. But the Bible reminds us to find our security by trusting in God and being confident in the treasure within us—God’s power on display through our weakness (Proverbs 29:25; 2 Corinthians 4:7).

We may be “pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed” (vv.8-9). As believers, “Our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies” (vv.10-12).

Although discouraging times like a job loss may shake our confidence, we can be assured that “our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (v.17). So let’s “fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (v.18).

May our heavenly Father give us His eternal perspective as He continues to provide daily for us, His children.

—Ruth O’Reilly-Smith

365-day plan: Joshua 7:1-26

MORE
Read 2 Corinthians 3:1-6 for another description of the security we can find in Christ. 
NEXT
What are some of the good things that can come from the loss of something cherished? How have you seen the faithfulness of God through hardship and suffering in your life?