2 Cor. 8:16-24; Psalm 43

2 Cor 8:16-24
Paul, Titus and another companion traveled together to take the large offering to Jerusalem. This was to ensure that no one would be accused of mishandling the money in any way. People are pretty sensitive about money, and financial scandals can seriously hurt the church's testimony, And misusing the gifts would of course be a grave sin against the Lord. It's always a good idea to take precautions when dealing with the Lord's money!

Psalm 43
Apparently discouragement and even despair are not new emotions. It's amazing how many times the psalmists cry out to God for help in these matters. In v. 3, the psalmist prays, "Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me." He must have felt that his world was pretty dark, and he needed light and truth from the Lord. In the psalmists case, in the Old Testament, they went to Jerusalem ('your holy mountain") to worship. We are in the New Testament dispensation, and so God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, is living within us. We don't have to go anywhere to meet with Him. He is willing and ready to give us His light and His truth. He will be our light, and His Word will be our guide. Then we'll be filled with joy, and we will praise our God. v. 4

I think it's unrealistic to think that we'll never be discouraged or sad. The Psalms seem to indicate that these emotions are part of being human. So what do we do when we are discouraged and sad? We follow the advice given in v. 5, "I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again--my Savior and my God!"

So how do we "put our hope in God"? I believe this is another way of saying we must trust Him which is perhaps yet another way of saying we must have faith in Him. I believe communication with Him is the key here. If we never talk to Him and we never listen to Him by reading, studying, and meditating on His Word, we will have a hard time truly trusting Him. In addition, I think it's good to praise the Lord even if we don't feel like it. (v. 5) Just like any other area of our lives, our emotions often follow our actions. If we act energetic, we will begin to feel more that way. If we act in loving ways, we begin to feel more loving. And most importantly, when we are obedient to God by praising Him, our negative feelings begin to disappear.