Day 198: Suffering Happens. Period.

2 Corinthians 1:1-2:4; 2 Kings 14; Micah 4:1-5:1

Paul recognizes that there will be suffering and he had experienced a lot of it. He said that we suffer with hope because God will comfort us. We don't suffer just because God is mean or we've done something wrong. This is Earth. Suffering happens. But, when we recognize that and believe in Jesus Christ, we can endure suffering because we know that this is not it. Paul goes so far to say that they were suffering so bad they thought they were going to die. They were at the end of their rope, the end of the line, they had nothing left. Maybe you've felt that way before. What did that suffering accomplish? Paul says that it made them rely no longer on themselves but trust completely in The Lord. The response we should have when we struggle is not to give up or sink deep into despair, but to turn to God and place all our pain and fears and worries in his hands.

Amaziah did a good job following The Lord and trying to do what was right. However, he fell victim to two things: compromise and power. He didn't destroy the shrines for the other gods, something his ancestors or he should have done right away. Secondly, he wins some battles and then decides to pick a fight with Israel, thinking he can win. He wanted control, wanted power, and he was prideful in thinking he needed more victories. The result was terrible for Judah; not only was Amaziah himself captured and later killed, but the entire army destroyed and half of the Jerusalem wall torn down. He power-hungry pride caused so much destruction.

God promises rest and peace. In Micah it is a beautiful picture that the swords and spears will be remade into rakes and shovels. That there will be no more need for fighting or defense. People will work the earth like humble farmers and rest. God continues by saying that he will bring the lame and the outcasts into his family. The Lord has a special place in his heart and his kingdom for the crippled and the left out. I don't know exactly who the "outcasts" or "left-out" are, but we have to believe that God cares so much for those that the world often leaves behind. What an amazing God we serve, that he would love, so deeply, those that the rest of us forget to love.