Don't Lose Heart!

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. (2 Cor 4:1)

I just love the logic of Paul.

He doesn't exhort us from emotion or false hope, he exhorts us from doctrine. Here he shows us the way to not lose heart in ministry. And the answer is not a super-spiritual emotion, or a promise of thousands of converts in the next generation. (That may happen - but doesn't always.) Instead, his answer is that ministry is granted by the mercy of God. And therefore, we don't lose heart.

Why is this so encouraging? After focusing on the purity of their message and the efforts of the enemy to blind people to truth, Paul elaborates on the message they were given "by the mercy of God":

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 4:5-6)

The message isn't about us - it's about Him! He's the message, we are the servants. Verse 7 repeats the theme of "not ourselves" when Paul notes that the treasure is in jars of clay to show the power is of God and not "of us". Being given that sort of ministry by God's mercy means that the results are in His hands. The battle is supernatural, and we may get wounded - but ultimately because the message isn't about us, and the ministry is given to us by mercy instead of merit, we can rest in the pouring out of light about the glory of God. And in that, we can always take heart. Even when the message is rejected, His glory is being poured out. We glorify Him when we serve in the way Paul describes - honestly, purely, without deception. The results are in His hands.

Paul doesn't exalt himself at all in this chapter. He focuses continually on the glory of God as the grounds and goal of ministry - even of suffering (verse 17). And that should encourage us all.

Are you struggling today to not lose heart? Remember that the ministry you've been given is "by the mercy of God". Remember that your job is to reflect His light, to carry the message as a servant, honestly and purely. When you do that, you glorify Him. And in that you can take heart - whatever else you face.

Sometimes the best news in the world is a reminder that in the end, it's not about us :). Hallelujah!