Verses from 2 Corinthians

“我们虽然四面受压，却没有压碎；心里作难，却不至绝望，受到迫害，却没有被丢弃；打倒了，却不至死亡。我们身上常常带着耶稣的死，好让耶稣的生也在我们的身上显明出来。”

哥林多后书 4:8-10 

“we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 

The apostle Paul’s life was an example of having a cross-shaped perspective. He described himself in times of suffering as being “persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:9). He believed that in the hard times, God is at work, “achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (vv. 17–18).

To “fix our eyes . . . on what is unseen” doesn’t mean we minimize the problems. Paul Barnett, in his commentary on this passage, explains, “There is to be confidence, based on the certainty of God’s purposes for [us] . . . . On the other hand, there is the sober recognition that we groan with hope mingled with pain.”

Jesus gave His life for us. His love is deep and sacrificial. As we look at life “through the cross,” we see His love and faithfulness. And our trust in Him grows.

Father, 

teach us who You are. 

Increase our trust in You. 

Fill our minds with Your perspective.

Look at everything through the cross.