CW Weekly Devotional - "Hard Pressed, but not Crushed" > Clemson Wesley

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Friday, November 06, 2009

CW Weekly Devotional - "Hard Pressed, but not Crushed"
By laneglaze @ 10:40 AM :: 202 Views :: 0 Comments ::

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Corinth. 4:7-10, NIV)

Note: The events of this past week - locally and around our nation and world - combined with the expectation of Clemson’s game against Florida State this Saturday night reminded me of this devotional written in November, 2003. If you recall, the Tigers defeated Florida State and then finished the season with impressive wins against USC and Tennessee in the Peach Bowl. My heart goes out to all who are struggling today, especially my neighbor who lost her home in a fire earlier this week and the families and communities connected to Fort Hood in Texas. May God help us to rediscover the joy of the Lord. CLG

If you've ever doubted the Resurrection, you should have been in Clemson on Saturday night.

A week before the Clemson football team and its head coach had been written off by many as dead. What life had remained in the Tigers and their leader had been beaten out of them on the field at Grove Stadium in Winston-Salem a week earlier. They had been crushed. They had been destroyed. Most of the faithful were left perplexed. Many felt despair.

But isn't a football season so often symbolic of the seasons of our lives? Just when things seem to be clicking along just fine, the rug is pulled from underneath our feet. And just when we think that things couldn't get worse, a ray of sunshine and hope breaks through the stormy clouds.

When Paul wrote his second letter to the church in Corinth, storm clouds had already formed. Like many coastal cities, Corinth was filled with many vices, many "false gospels." It was a difficult place for believers to live. There were constant temptations and persecutions. The church had grown weak, and they struggled to remain faithful in midst of rampant idolatry and immorality.

Paul wrote to give them hope…to remind them of the high calling that had been bestowed upon them. In Christ they had been newly created, and in Christ they had been charged with an awesome task: the ministry of reconciliation. They were to be ambassadors for God both in Corinth and throughout the world, "as though God were making his appeal through" them (vv. 5:17-20). While he understands that they often felt fragile and weak like jars made of clay, Paul concludes that this is part of God's plan: to use imperfect, cracked vessels to convey the power of His message of love, grace and salvation through Jesus Christ.

I did not go to Clemson's game on Saturday night, but I had made plans to meet my brother and nephew at the top of the hill after the game. I arrived in time to watch the last few minutes of the game and to witness the dismantling of both goal posts. Several minutes later, as I stood near the top of the hill, I found myself being corralled by an L-shaped piece of the goal post as it was being carried up the hill by several hundred excited fans. In a matter of seconds, I and another student found ourselves pinned against the stadium gate, with the fluorescent post tight against our chests. We couldn't move, and hoards of people kept moving toward us. I was scared, and the student beside me began to panic. The pressure continued to build for another 10-15 seconds, until the L-shaped post finally snapped at the joint. The student and I checked on each other, breathed a sigh of relief, and went our separate ways.

As a campus minister, I know many students and others who feel as if they have an L-shaped piece of the goal post pressing in on them. The sources of this pressure vary: problems at home, the death of a loved one, a friend's suicide, worries about grades and scholarships, friends in Iraq, a friend with cancer, guilt from the past, relationships gone awry. Some feel as if they are going to be crushed. Some feel as if their life has been destroyed. Most are perplexed. Many feel great despair.

As people of faith, there are times when all is going well and the life of Jesus shines throughout our bodies and lives. But, as in the case of the Corinthians, there are also times when the death of Jesus is more evident in how we live. And while we feel hard pressed, struck down and full of despair, the Good News is that God will never abandon us. God will see us through our difficult time and promises a rainbow at the end of the storm. A song by Darrell Evans, “Trading My Sorrows,” quotes Paul’s words and affirms God’s promises in a meaningful way:

I'm pressed but not crushed persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I'm blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure
And his joy's gonna be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning

I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

With seams, cracks and fissures,
lane

Rev. C. Lane Glaze

Director, Clemson Wesley

Campus Minister, Clemson UMC

PO Box 1703 Clemson SC 29633

864-654-5547 (o) and 864-207-9135 (cell)

www.clemsonwesley.com

Feel free to forward this email to a friend. The Clemson Wesley Weekly Devotional is a ministry of the Clemson Wesley Foundation, the United Methodist Church’s ministry to students on the campus of Clemson University. The purpose of this email is to look at issues relevant to the life of Clemson students through the lens of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you would like your name added to this list, email Rev. Lane Glaze at glaze@clemson.edu.

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