Lectio Divina of 2 Corinthians 4
Take a few moments to quietly prepare your heart to enter God’s presence. Intentionally release the chaos and the noise in your mind. Read these passages slowly, lingering over the words. After each reading, take a few moments to silently reflect. Afterwards, spend a few minutes in prayer over what you received from God’s Word and give thanks for His amazing words of life
After the 1st passage: Listen for a word or phrase that particularly strikes you.
After the 2nd passage: Listen to how the passage seems to touch your life experience.
After the 3rd passage: Reflect on the questions below.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10; 16-18
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
(ESV)
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We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
(NLT)
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If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives!
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
(MSG)
REFLECTION QUESTIONS*
What is God doing in this passage? (Circle all of the words that show His actions/work.)
What is a fear you are currently facing? What is your greatest nightmare?
How am I experiencing loss, pain, woundedness, and brokenness?
What would it look like to curiously watch and wait for Jesus to renew me?
How can I daily “fix” my eyes on the unseen?
We invite you to take use the Lectio Divina worksheet, linked in the button above, to enhance your experience.