BBD 02.17.12 Not Crushed
Posted by: edwrather <edwrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
There are 17,000 Subscribers to the Email Devotional
02.17.12
Not Crushed
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the
power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet
not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not
forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - always carrying about in the body
the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested
in our body. - 2 Corinthians 4:7-10.
Ludovic Maciave was driving his 4x4 in the French Alps' Arly Gorge near
Albertville when he came to a sudden stop. What stopped Ludovic was a 20-ton
boulder that smashed his vehicle. Emergency responders did not expect to
find anyone alive inside of the smashed vehicle; however, Ludovic did
survive with flattened lungs, damaged ribs, and assorted other injuries.
Ludovic says, "When I came to, I realized that there was a huge rock in the
car. I was stuck between the rock and the bottom of the door.space was very
restricted.could be measured in centimeters.I was completely compressed. It's
a miracle I'm alive. Although I'm not a believer I do think this was a
miracle. The chances of it happening were very small. Now I will see life
differently." (Mail Online News UK 02.10.12 - Here is a link to the article
where there are photos posted:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099167/Now-THATS-lucky-escape-Miracle-driver-survives-4x4-flattened-20-tonne-boulder-French-Alps-road.html)
Ludovic Maciave knows what it is like to be hard-pressed physically on every
side, and yet not be crushed. He experienced it in a very literal way! I
agree with Ludovic; it can only be described as a miracle that the man is
still living. Hopefully, he will move from his belief in a miracle to a
belief in the One who brought the miracle about in his life.
The apostle Paul writing through the direction of the Holy Spirit in 2
Corinthians describes the pressure of life that was upon him. Paul had not
been literally crushed with a 20-ton boulder; however, Paul had an emotional
and spiritual weight of a huge boulder resting upon his shoulders. In 2
Corinthians 6, the apostle Paul writes of these pressures saying, "But in
all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in
tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in
tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings.(2 Corinthians 6:4-5)."
Paul says that even though he and other believers are going through these
difficult things they are "not crushed."
Why are the apostle Paul and other believers "not crushed" by the pressures
of living life? Because Paul says, ".we have this treasure in earthen
vessels." What treasure is that? It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The
earthen vessels are the bodies of the believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit
by whose presence we have the living presence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
How can we be crushed when we have Jesus living within us? How can we be
crushed when the power that created Heaven and earth resides within us? Let
us do what Ludovic Maciave cannot yet do; let us believe! Believe, as did
the apostle Paul. Believe, as have countless others since the resurrection
of Christ Jesus. Believe, and you will never be "crushed" by anything upon
this earth. Believe it!
Copyright © 2012. Ed Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since
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