Fragile Clay Jar

God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 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.

2 Corinthians 4:6-9

Do you ever feel hard-pressed? Perplexed? Persecuted? Sometimes it seems as though the world and everything in it are teamed up against us, ready to pound us, knock us down, and hurt us.

I felt knocked down when one of my smartphone app games declined me! I had not realized how many “Words With Friends” games I had going with my long-distance college daughter, but out of the blue a message popped up on that little screen declining me! Ouch! I had never been declined on my phone before. Of course, my daughter was not rejecting me; she was just being wise with her time. I took it personally, even though it was just one game out of nine that we were playing. But my clay jar cracked at the first sign of what felt like rejection.

The truth is, our hearts are all fragile like clay jars, and we can be hurt easily. But God still shines His light in us and infuses our souls with His Holy Spirit’s healing power. We get knocked down but do not crumble to pieces even in the direst of circumstances. Because of His strength in us, all of us hard-pressed, weak vessels can be encouraged and effective.

And to our surprise, the very circumstances that make us feel crushed create the places in our lives where we see God at work, shining through the cracks as He mends them for even greater use.

Look up 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; write it down on an index card and place it where you can see it throughout your day.