“When we arrived in Macedonia, there was no rest for us. We faced conflict from every direction, with battles on the outside and fear on the inside. But God, who encourages those who are discouraged, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.”
2 Corinthians 7:5-6
Do you ever have times in life when you feel discouraged or fearful? I’ve noticed that when I feel discouraged or fearful it is often more difficult to notice anything positive. Our perspective can become a downward spiral of discouragement and despair.
We are not the first to feel discouraged or afraid because of what life brings our way. The Apostle Paul once arrived in Macedonia and experienced one difficulty after another. He tells us that he had no rest. He was facing conflict from every direction. He had battles raging from both the outside world and from within himself. He was discouraged. He was afraid. Yes, even the apostle Paul got discouraged and afraid at times.
Yet, amidst Paul’s discouragement, God sent an encouraging friend Paul’s way with some good news. I think it is subtle but important to point out that Paul recognizes the source of encouragement is ultimately God Himself. It’s almost one of those blink-and-you-miss-it details. Paul had confidence that God loved him and an awareness that God’s good presence was constantly at work in his life. This perspective allowed Paul to easily attribute any encouragement to God. You can be sure this perspective gave Paul a keener sense of God’s active presence, love and kindness toward him.
I wonder, how many times has God loved and encouraged me and I didn’t even notice it or attribute it to Him? Ironically, there have probably been times in my life when I was actively complaining about God’s seeming absence to someone He put in my life as an encouragement. Sometimes our discouraged perspective doesn’t allow us to see that it was God’s presence at work when that friend came to visit, it was God’s presence at work when we heard that sermon that spoke to our heart, it was God’s presence at work when we received a bit of good news, it was God’s presence at work when He led us to that community of believers, it was God’s presence that never left us nor forsook us.
Take a moment to ask God for a keener awareness of His presence at work in your life. May you notice all the little and big ways that He is actively at work daily. May this encourage us as it did Paul.