When You Feel Like Giving Up - Himalayan Heights – June 14 Readings: 1 Corinthians 15:58 – Stand Firm

 

1 Corinthians 15 - Our Risen Lord

All Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but there are some Scriptures that we can consider the Himalayan mountaintops of the Bible. In the next few months, we will be looking at a series of great texts that inspire and move us - the "Himalayan Heights" of God's Word.

Today's Reading:  1 Corinthians 15:58

1 Corinthians 15 explores the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I would encourage you to read the entire chapter daily, then to focus more closely on the selected text

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Through the Bible Readings: 1 Chronicles 14-15, John 15:18–16:15, Psalm73:11–17, Proverbs 15:5–7

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Devotional:  When You Feel Like Giving Up   

In verses 51-57, Paul teaches us about the trumpets sounding and us being taken in a twinkling of eye into the presence of God, being changed instantly. He lays out the future change that will take place when our bodies that are currently so prone to corruption and death will be made immortal and incorruptible. Then, in verse 58, he summarizes the chapter by telling the Corinthians how they should respond to these teachings about the end times.

Oddly, he doesn't tell us to get excited about the details and to show morbid interest in every arcane and intricate controversy related to the end. Students of end-times things often get sidetracked by the minutiae. He doesn't tell us to be afraid either. A lot of Christians become fearful about what is happening in the world, getting wrapped up in conspiracy theories and panicking at the spread of evil. We often spend our time arguing over whether my system is correct or yours is.

But the instruction Paul gives here is clear, and it is essentially the same admonition he gives every time he talks about the end times. After describing the coming of Christ in the clouds in 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul says this in verse 18. "Therefore encourage one another with these words." In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul warns of the coming of the lawless one who will seek to deceive the world and then tells the people to "stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught."

Here, after regaling the Corinthians about the importance of the resurrection and how it guarantees our future resurrection and glorification, Paul commands that believers "be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord." Knowing about our future in Christ and considering the end times should not so much inspire speculation and controversy, but passion and diligence in the service of the Lord. 

Why? Because we know that our work for Christ is not empty or meaningless. Sometimes, our service for Christ seems pointless and ineffective. People reject us and the world is moving in the wrong direction, but Jesus wins and will stand victorious. The resurrection and the second coming and our future glory gives meaning and hope and purpose to all we do. 

Don't give up no matter how hard it seems. Even when things are tough and the world is discouraging, there is an eternal future that makes all you do serving Christ meaningful. 

Father, thank you for eternity which gives meaning and hope and purpose to this difficult world. 

Think and Pray:

Do you ever feel like giving up?
Remember and meditate on the fact that our future hope in Christ gives meaning and purpose to our life today.