May 11

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For in this (body) we groan… 2 Corinthians 5:2

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🔊 Paul is describing in this phrase some of the agonies he endured as he laboured for the gospel.  He is also describing the sense of weakness, frailty and mortality that is the common experience of all human beings.  We may feel we have super-human strength when we are young, but that is a short and passing phase.  Our bodies are weak and fragile; as we grow older, the ageing process can produce groans of frustration and longing for a better life.  The human race longs for a pain-free world.  Paul, who saw so much of God’s supernatural power in his ministry, nevertheless also experienced physical weakness and pain.  But he calls this process “our light affliction” – 2 Corinthians 4:17 – and rejoices that, while the ‘outward man’ perishes, there is a constant miracle of renewal going on in the inside.  Paul must have longed for miracles to relieve his suffering, and this longing is common to us all, whether we suffer in physical pain or perhaps in the emotional pain of difficult relationships.  Paul groaned because God has not promised us a life without challenge here and now.  But He has promised the inner renewal of our hope by the Holy Spirit.  Don’t miss out on God’s answer for your condition.  Receive His matchless ministry to your ‘inner man’, letting the blemishes be erased from your spirit for ever.