Listen

But we have this treasure in clay pots so that the awesome power belongs to God and doesn’t come from us. We are experiencing all kinds of trouble, but we aren’t crushed. We are confused, but we aren’t depressed. We are harassed, but we aren’t abandoned. We are knocked down, but we aren’t knocked out.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9

Think

We tend to associate the body’s breakdown with older people. We know that with age thinning bones and weakened muscles emerge as a fact of life. Young people, however, have fragile bodies too. When my daughter was in high school, she shattered her kneecap during an indoor soccer match. Because of her youth and a great surgeon, she recovered and resumed her soccer activities within a short time. Still, she learned (as we all do) that our bodies are not indestructible.

Yet, even though all of us are weak vessels, God entrusts within us a great treasure. Within every believer light and love exist as a direct result of knowing Jesus Christ. As humans, we will experience affliction, confusion, and harassment to various degrees. As Christians, however, these negative circumstances should not overpower us because we possess “the awesome power” that comes from God.

Gayle Taylor

Question to Ponder:

How would you describe the “awesome power” that is within you?

Pray

God who walks with me, I am grateful that I do not walk alone in this life. No matter what circumstances I face, you accompany me and keep me from being crushed or driven to despair. You make sure that I am not forsaken or destroyed. Thank you for giving me your awesome power: the knowledge of the glory of God through Jesus Christ. Help me to stay connected to you, my creator.

Amen.

Go

Take with you a word of encouragement,

walking confidently into your day.

Remember that the Lord is as close as the touch of a hand,

protecting you, a precious vessel of clay.