2 Corinth. 4:8

"We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair." 2 Corinth. 4:8

Do you worry? It's okay to admit it. No body else is around. You don't have to impress any other Christians with your faith. Okay, I thought so. As human beings we worry. It comes from having a peculiarity of vision. We can see where we are, and we can see where we've been, but we can't see ahead. Imagine being on a dark road at night and having to drive your car backwards down that road with only the dim tail lights lighting the way in front of you and the headlights brightening the path behind.

So, it is with the Christian walk. And there are rare people among us who don't get worried. In fact, Paul says clearly it will happen in II Corinthians 4:8. He says we are : "afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed but not despairing." The word translated perplexed means to be confused, unsure of direction, and "worried" according to my Greek lexicon.

I'll tell you when I read that, it was a great relief to me. Obviously, even Paul got worried on occasion or he wouldn't have included this in the letter. But didn't Jesus say to be anxious for nothing. Yes. But that is a completely different word. It means to be overcome with fear or to be overly cautious. There is a sense in which the anxiety is controlling one's life to such an extent that one forgets God.

But rarely does the Christian reach that state of anxiety. What we face is doubt. Not doubt about God or His goodness, but doubt about our own resources, doubt about the future, doubt about the eventual outcome. Remember the car driving backwards down the dark road. You know as long as you stay on the road you are okay, but that doesn't make the journey any less stressful. The Good News in this passage, though, is that Paul says even though we are worried, perplexed, in doubt, without resources, and uncertain about what to do or where to turn, that we are not in despair which means utterly without hope.

Yes, Worry will happen to us. But when the road gets dark and the tail lights dim, we know that if worst comes to worst, we can turn the wheel over to the one who has perfect night vision and He will drive us safely home.

Lord, through all the stresses of today, let me not forget that you are still in control. Amen and Amen.