Quiet Time in 2 Corinthians 8
- Filip
- Apr 17, 2022
- 4 min read
EXPAND TO READ: 2 CORINTHIANS 8 (HCSB)
Appeal to Complete the Collection
1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God granted to the churches of Macedonia: 2 During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity. 3 I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability, 4 they begged us insistently for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints, 5 and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves especially to the Lord, then to us by God’s will. 6 So we urged Titus that just as he had begun, so he should also complete this grace to you. 7 Now as you excel in everything—faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us—excel also in this grace.
8 I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich. 10 Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it. 11 But now finish the task as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. 12 For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. 13 It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality— 14 at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality. 15 As it has been written:
The person who gathered much did not have too much, and the person who gathered little did not have too little.
Administration of the Collection
16 Thanks be to God who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he accepted our urging and, being very diligent, went out to you by his own choice. 18 We have sent with him the brother who is praised throughout the churches for his gospel ministry. 19 And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gift that is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help. 20 We are taking this precaution so no one can criticize us about this large sum administered by us. 21 For we are making provision for what is right, not only before the Lord but also before men. 22 We have also sent with them our brother. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker serving you; as for our brothers, they are the messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore, show them proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you.
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 6-7): I know Your grace is sufficient and I know Your grace is never-ending. I am so blessed and thankful for Your grace in my life. I do struggle at times with showing grace to others for some reason. Although I have received so much grace from You, my struggle is relaying that grace to those around me. I ask that You forgive me for my selfishness towards Your grace, but also for forgiveness in not being a proper ambassador of You towards others. Help me to be better, Father. Remind me in those times that I’m struggling to give grace that Your grace is sufficient for all and that I should be allowing it to overflow out of me to others.
PROMISE (verses 13-15): This has been a topic that has plagued humans probably forever—equality. You promise us that certain hardships, trials, and even what appears to be surplus for others is not in vain as it promotes equality. The reason for this is because if one has plenty and the other not enough, then God’s people are to share God’s resources through good stewardship so that all of God’s followers are living in equality. I do have a giving heart most of the time, so I do feel that I’m living in this promise most of the time, but I do also struggle with envy at times. I do find myself becoming envious of others here-and-there to the point that I covet what they have and that is not what You want from me. You say in verse 15 that “the person who gathers much did not have too much and the person who gathered little did not have too little.” We have what we need because You supply us with our needs. Our wants through the flesh are irrelevant because You have already promised us equality for our needs. Thank You for this clarity, Father. Help me to be less envious so that I may no longer covet what others have.
ATTITUDE (verse 7): You ask us to not only excel in our faith, speech, knowledge, diligence, and love, but to also excel in grace. As I mentioned above, this has definitely been a struggle of mine, so I ask You to help me to change my attitude towards sharing Your grace. Help this to become a default of my own attitudes, so that grace overwrites my fleshly defaults of anger, selfishness, and irritability. Your grace is sufficient and I need to be better at allowing it to overflow out of me towards others. Help me with this, please, Father.
COMMAND (verses 21): I feel this verse gives us a very practical yet serious command from You. It may not be a direct command as You have given us in other verses, but I do still feel it is said as a command. You tell us to make provisions for what is right both before the Lord and before men. Why I feel this is a command is the latter portion of the verse: both before the Lord and before men. We are not only to do what is right before You, but we are also to be showcasing Your righteous before mankind as a testimony and praise to You. I have not lived up to this command for many years, unfortunately, but I do understand the importance of it. It relates to the old statement that “actions are better than words.” When we constantly live in integrity in our faith both to You and to mankind, then Your kingdom is not only glorified, but also expanded due to our consistency in living to make provisions for what is right. Help me to be better and to understand more deeply this command, Father, so that I may live in a way that is right in Your eyes, but also shows to those around me how amazing You really are.
EXAMPLE (verses 23-24): As always, You give us a powerful example for us to live out our faith by. You show us how Titus lived according to Your will by serving others with Your grace, but at the same time You also showed us how different people have different responsibilities in Your ministry. You say that some of them are messengers of the churches for the glory of Christ. Although I still do not know what I true calling is from You, Father, I do truly understand and believe that each person who is a follower of Christ has a specific purpose or role and that not all followers should be doing the same things in this life. We have messengers, helpers, creators, builders, and so much more. The ultimate goal, however, is in the very last verse in that we are to show proof before the churches of our love. Help me to be better at showing love towards others, Father. Help me to no longer have so many negative thoughts and doubts come into my mind. Help me to be more like Jesus and less like me.
*DAILY NOTE: Just before opening the Bible today, as I do every day of quiet time, I did my prayer. This prayer was a little different today as I had something weighing on my heart concerning the topic of grace and was feeling convicted about it, so I asked You for help in truly embracing Your grace fully so that I may be better at overflowing Your grace to those around me. When I started reading today’s scripture, the very first few verses were all on the topic of grace. How amazing are You, Father, that even in a “book” that is thousands of years old and even in a prayer that came to my heart today and not thousands of years ago, Your timing and response are still perfect. Thank You for this perfectly timed quiet time in my life, Father. Thank You for Your grace and awesome teachings to me right when I need it. I am so grateful for Your timing as my timing always seems to produce bad fruits yet Your timing is always perfect.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
I always "sandwich" my quiet time with God in prayer and do it in a location that I will not have any distractions so that I can be focused on my quiet time with God. Do not worry about how short or long your journal entries are for that day's quiet time. Just focus on the actual quiet time and relational conversation with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word. The journaling is an enhancement to your quiet time conversation with God, but also to allow you to reflect on things later as you can look back on your journal entries later when you do the chapters again in the future to see how you have grown. See the FAQ for more detail on how I do my quiet time.
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