A Prayer to Never Give Up
By Meg Bucher
“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NLT
The day I am writing this piece marks one year since my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, a life-long autoimmune disease. In an instant, our lives changed. All the freedoms that existed before her condition vanished before we could properly say goodbye. It’s unfair her pancreas quit on her. There was nothing she could do. It’s a condition one is born with and lies dormant until triggered. “Never give up,” as Paul pleaded with the Corinthian church, has pulled our family through the last year.
In life, we are promised to go through hard things, but nothing prepares us for the hard things the Lord knows are rolling down the pipeline. He, however, goes before us. When our lives are flipped upside down, He is not surprised, shaken, or unaware. He is prepared, and He picks us up and carries us through those seasons. Many days have felt exactly like all the army-crawling memes I jokingly send to my friends, laughing and crying at the same time. We tell ourselves this truth:
“God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 5:5 NLT
God went to great lengths to make sure we were never alone. Not only did He surround us with other human beings to do life with, but He also gave us His Holy Spirit through Christ, empowering us to live life on a completely accelerated level, beyond what we are humanly capable of.
We are not alone in this life. Not my daughter with her disease, our family picking up pieces and building new patterns of life. Not any of us. We all face hard things in life, even if they don’t have a title or a diagnosis. Life is hard. But, as my late father-in-law was so faithful to remind us, “Life is Good.” It’s both. Hard and good. And when the hard times threaten to eclipse the good running right alongside them, cling to the truth like these verses from Paul today, and study the extra passages listed below.
Paul told them to fix their eyes on things they could not yet see because those are the things that will last forever. Jesus said, in His most famous sermon, “Blessed are those who have not yet seen …but believe.” Like the Queen song bellows, “Don’t stop believing’” Yes, I went there. Whatever it takes, remember our bodies are dying, but our spirits are being renewed every day. The trouble is temporary. The glory of eternity with Jesus is forever …
Let’s pray:
Father,
Today, I pray for everyone who feels lost and alone. To the person who feels broken beyond repair. For Your son or daughter enduring an unfair diagnosis. To the ones facing hardship, homelessness, and war. For the hungry bellies around the world, God. For those who don’t know who You are. Father, I plead their case in prayer today that You would meet them with the truth of these verses You have so eloquently inspired Paul to write. Let these truths sink down into the very core of who we are …Your children. Your precious creation. Glory to You, and You alone, God.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Photo credit: ©SalemDesign/BethanyPyle
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