Hard Times

The Apostle Paul opens his second letter with a huge encouragement for those in the church who are facing hard times. 2 Cor 1 v 3 -12 is an amazing concise theses on hard times. I'd really encourage you to read it through here.

So if you are in the middle of hard times or know someone who is here are some of my thoughts from this passage. It would be great to hear yours.

• Hard times WILL come as a result of following Jesus. (v5)
• God comes along side us during hard times. We get God but somehow we get Him even more when we need Him. (v4)
• With the experience of hard times we can comfort others going through similar situations. Be like God to them. (v4)
• During hard times we GET Gods comfort. (v5)
• We get a guarantee of great times. (v5)
• God uses hard times to help us grow up in Him (v6)
• Enduring hard times is a sure sign of our faith in Jesus. (v7)
• A hard time is not just a bad day at the office but could mean facing death. (v8)
• Hard times means we need to rely on God for deliverance not our own efforts. (v9)
• We will never face a hard time that God will not be there to help us (v10)
• My own prayers and other peoples prayers are a key factor in helping us through hard times (v11)
• We can't get through hard times on our own we need God. (v12)