With Success Like That, Who Needs Failure?

Daily Reading:  2 Corinthians 11

...in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure... (2 Corinthians 11:27)

Devotional Thought: In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul puts the defense of his ministry in high gear, trying to show the Corinthians just what true apostolic success looks like.  As we read it, we should ask ourselves the question, “Does this sound like the ‘success gospel’ we hear today?”

I needed to hear this message this morning.  What is my motive for following Jesus?  Am I following him simply for what he can give me?  Or, am I willing to follow him so that I can spend my life in his service?  Paul suffered, "toil and hardship... sleepless night[s], hunger and thirst... cold and exposure" Am I doing that?  Am I working hard to accomplish God’s will?  Do I give my best effort to his highest purposes?  Does my burden to share the gospel with my loved ones and friends cause me any sleepless nights?

Paul said that he had experienced hunger and thirst, going without food.  Some of that was due to being a travelling evangelist.  Food was hard to come by at times.  But, Paul’s going without food was also due to his commitment to prayer and fasting.  Are we doing that today?  Fasting should be a regular part of every Christian’s life.  Is it of yours?

Paul said he had been cold and naked.  Am I willing to be “vulnerable” for Christ?  Am I willing to be rejected for my testimony?  It is quite easy to be a Christian when men praise you, but what about when they turn against you?  What about when they persecute you and ridicule you, when they pick you apart and find fault with everything you try to do and all you stand for?  Are you faithful then?

Prayer: Lord, help us to endure hardship with you!  Help us to sacrifice our creaturely comforts in order to become more like Jesus.  Help us to pay any price to see your kingdom come and your will be done!

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 116:1-4

1 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.

2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.

4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!"