Bible Studies for Life: December 14

When Your Circumstances Fall Short • 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; 12:6-10

By Sydney Charlton

Life is full of difficulties, but it’s also full of blessings! The holiday season often highlights the many things we are without. Black Friday Sales and Cyber Monday Deals beckon us to want more than we have, or at least the newest model of what we already possess. And this time of year can be a dreadful reminder of loneliness as empty seats surround our once full holiday gathering table.

Though there are difficulties, believers must choose to look for the ways God has worked so wonderfully on our behalf. Sure, we may desire the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos this time of year, but when we choose to be grateful for the many things God has already given to us, our covetous nature surrenders to thankfulness. Though the groans of grief echo loudest during this time of year, it’s critical to choose to honor God in our grief by thanking Him for cherished moments spent with our loved ones who have gone before us.

God Almighty is the giver of good gifts, and His grace that sustains us in all sorts of circumstances (James 1:17). It is good news that God’s presence in our lives is steady and constant. He chooses not to abandon us, especially in our despair (Hebrews 13:5). In Jesus Christ, we have more than enough, and we can trust Him to supply all our needs (Matthew 6).

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 

In 2020 and 2021, my husband and I faced many health concerns. No one needs to be reminded of the difficulty the world faced in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but in the middle of that turmoil, my husband was told he had early-onset dementia and a rare form of cancer. Then in 2021, while we were still navigating those details, our entire household was quarantined with COVID, and I spent several days in the hospital with bilateral COVID pneumonia.

I can now jokingly say that August 2021 was like a bad country song: we all got COVID, I was hospitalized, my grandmother passed away, and my minivan broke down. We can laugh through those details now because the Lord has healed my husband and me, and we know that He is the One Who carried us through! 

The harder life is, the more apparent it becomes that we need the Lord! As Paul points out in this passage, difficulties cause us to hope in God. There is a deeper sense of trust in Him when we are navigating the trials of life. He has proven Himself faithful time and time again, and He simply doesn’t fail! 

2 Corinthians 12:6-8 

Though we aren’t positive about what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was, we can sympathize. We all have something (or someone) that prompts us to persistent prayer. The more something/one aggravates us or pains us, the more aware we are of our need for God’s grace and mercy. There’s a holy humility that is cultivated when we continually surrender ourselves to the Lord rather than give in to fear, rebellion, or stir up strife when things become hard.

There were plenty of moments that humbled me when I was hospitalized, but those moments now cause me to laugh. I couldn’t do simple things on my own, and I was lonely since visitors weren’t allowed. What was my thorn in my flesh then prompted me to pay attention to the beauty found in being alone with the Lord. He was kind to me then, and He is kind to me now!

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 

God strengthened my physical body to be able to leave the hospital! He allowed me to endure the difficult circumstances surrounding my hospital stay, and He offers the same grace to us all as we endure trying circumstances.

Though my health struggles due to COVID have passed, the memories remain. You may be like Paul, though, having pleaded with the Lord over and over for Him to remove something difficult from your life, yet it lingers.

Paul’s life encourages us that God strengthens us by His grace to endure great difficulty. There are two promises found in John 16:33: We are guaranteed to have trouble in this world, and Jesus has already overcome the world!

We serve the only One able to defeat sin and death, and He fights on our behalf! That is good news for those of us walking through any hardship. God is for you, and He is with you!

Charlton is the OneHope Missions Assistant at Crossgates Baptist Church, Brandon.