“For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.  But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Corinthians 7:5-6)

In whom do you trust?  Who will be the One to lead you where you need to go?  The Lord God, Creator of all things knows what you need before you ask.  He has made His plan and it is sure.  This world will come against God’s faithful.  But do not fear, for if the Lord is with you, nothing in all of creation will ever be able to separate you from the love God has given you in Christ.

Lord, this world does have its ups and downs.  Teach me to live through what this world brings that I may now and always walk humbly with you.  Guide me into this new life You give by grace that I would walk through every travail, tribulation, and fear knowing that You are with me.  Let me comfort others with the comfort You have given me that we may grow in the likeness of Christ.

Lord Jesus, You are the comfort of the weary.  You are the hope of the frightened.  You are the One who knows all that is needed and have provided before we ask.  Lead me this day in the way of salvation that I would see how You have rescued me from the pitfalls over which I passed by Your grace.  In all things, help me to keep my eyes upon You, for I need You to lead me.  Amen.

“I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together.  Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction” 2 Corinthians 7:3-4).

One of the things that seems to have diminished in current generations is a truthful exhortation one to the other.  We are to speak to each other in truth and love.  Not condemnation, but exhortation; that is, encouraging each other whether what we perceive is positive or negative in the word of the Lord.  Do not be afraid to speak the truth, for if you can help, it is not condemnation.

Lord, teach me to speak truthfully in love.  Help me to not see another as an adversary, but as a brother or sister.  Help me to receive correction when needed and to be willing to give correction according to Your word as well.  No matter the affliction, whether upon me, them, or us, let me be one to see the loving way to live through all circumstances in fellowship.  You have called us to be one as You are One.

Lord Jesus, You perfectly loved and rebuked.  You lead and we are to follow.  Help me to learn the lessons that I may live more fully in this faith You have given me.  Guide me according to Your principles to see as much of the whole as I can.  Guide me to live Your precepts, carrying through with what You would have me do and become whom You are making me to be.  Amen.

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.  Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one” (2 Corinthians 7:1-2).

It is not just a matter of preparing your heart and walking with the Lord, but also walking in the fellowship the Lord gives You.  He is, and must be, the author and finisher of your faith.  Willingly have Him lead you in all of your ways, for He alone knows all that is needed to perfect you, as has always been the goal.  Follow the Lord now and always as He leads where you need to go.

Lord, help me to see that this is a relationship that will never end.  You have come that all who believe might have life and have it abundantly.  Guide me amidst the fellowship to which You have appointed me that I may be guided by what You know I need.  Grant me a heart that receives Your direction and willingly learns the lessons You will teach me that I may be what You intend.

Come, Holy Spirit, and minister to me and through me.  It is not just me, but also those around me whom You will influence and lead.  You know all that I need and You are a constant presence.  Guide me in Your goodness to see and hear as You guide me through this day and every day.  Teach me what faithfulness means that I may live faithfully in Your guidance and with Your direction.  Amen.

“I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.  “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you.  “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

The invitation is clear.  Come and walk as a child of the Lord.  He will come to You and wants You to be with Him.  The Gospel makes this relationship possible through the mercy and grace of the Lord.  He desires to take You from where you were to where you need to be in order to walk with Him now and forever.  Come then, walk in the way of the Lord and live in Him.

Lord, I often think it is a matter of what I do or do not do.  Help me to live into this life for which You have died that I may live into a life of being a child of the Most High.  Guide me according to Your goodness that I may now and always abide in You and You in me.  Teach me the way to think that I may have thoughts that are good and fitting for this life that You have given me.

Lord Jesus, You have made possible eternal life.  You invite each one of us to come into You and walk as You have taught us.  Lead me, O Lord, that I may learn to always abide in You.  Open my heart that I would always welcome You into my life to guide me where I need to go.  Through all things, that Thy will be done, teach me to delight in walking with You every step of the way.  Amen.

“Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said” (2 Corinthians 6:15-16)

There is a distinct difference between those who walk in the way of the Lord and those who continue in rebellion.  Walk as one who is learning to love as the Lord loves.  Live as one who knows that the way of eternal life is with the Savior.  Be guided by the goodness of Christ and His mercy.  Know that in the Lord alone is the way of everlasting, good and full life.

Lord, help me to see with clarity the goodness You have made possible through grace.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see through the pitfalls of this age that I may focus upon Your goodness and mercy.  Teach me how to love as You love.  Guide me to live into this new life which You have given me by grace through Jesus, my Savior.  Keep my eyes always clear and focused on You.

Lord Jesus, You are the way, truth, and life.  Help me to walk humbly with You always.  Guide me in Your goodness that I may now and always abide in You as You abide in me.  Let me see the difference fellowship makes that I may dwell with others who are walking with You. Bring me to humbly love all whom I meet, but to be discerning with whom I fellowship.  Amen.

“Now in a like exchange – I speak as to children – open wide to us also.   Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:13-14)

The principle here is not one of excluding others, but one of recognizing that when you socialize with groups you will become like those groups.  We are constantly influenced by all kinds of things.  The important thing is to be aware of the influences and then to protect yourself so that you are influenced by the Lord, His Word and those who are in Him and will be an encouragement.

Lord, help me to learn those places where I need to strike a balance.  Guide me according to Your goodness that I would live into the life to which You have called me.  Help me always to see that only in You is there both liberty and life.  Walking with You is not giving up, but gaining.  Help me to love those who are yours and to willingly join with them as an active part of my life.

Lord Jesus, You gathered around You a fellowship who were Your community.  By Your example, I realize first that it is made up of all kinds of people, and then, that there was one in Your midst who betrayed You.  But, above all that, You had around You those who were called to You.  Let me be a part of Your fellowship wherever and whenever that takes place by Your calling.  Amen.

“Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.  You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections” (2 Corinthians 6:11-12).

No one is able to “make” another do anything.  Yes, we can be coerced by force, but we have been given a free will which we exercise often.  We are free to do as we please.  We are also free to learn how to love as the Lord loves.  Is this not then the challenge to all who believe?  Are we not called to become as Christ?  Your own affections will restrain you.  Are they for this world or for the Lord?

Lord, teach me how fleeting this world is.  Guide me to see that in this world there is heartache and disappointment.  Lead me in the way of everlasting life that I may walk in the way of truth.  Help me keep my eye upon the prize that I may learn from You how life was created to be lived.  Let me not be constrained by my worldly affections, but by You, the author and finisher of my faith.

Lord Jesus, have You not taught us to love as You have loved us?  Have you not said that we are to love the LORD and our neighbor?  Lead me in this way, Lord, that I would now and always be guided by the law of love and not by the affections of my heart which will lead me astray.  Teach me the way to abide in You and guide me to seek how to have You always abide in me.  Amen.

“As unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things” (2 Corinthians 6:9-10).

This is more than just an attitude; it is the reality of being a part of the Lord’s kingdom in a fallen world.  What good does it do to gain the world and lose your soul?  What momentary costs in this age can compare to the benefit of gaining your soul and eternity?  Do not these two things spell a very different way of looking at things?  Come then and see things as they truly are and walk in the way of the Lord.

Lord, open my eyes to see that in You is all hope and an eternal future.  Guide me according to Your goodness to see that in You is all hope and a future.  Lead me in the way of life that I may now and always be guided by You and Your goodness.  Help me not focus upon what I do not have, or what I suffer in this age, but upon what is mine in You now and forever and can never be taken away.

Lord Jesus, You walked humbly in this world and did not seek what this world seeks.  You came as an everyman and lived with no worldly possessions.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way that is eternal that I would focus upon all that is good according to Your word.  Help me to be content in all circumstances.  Lift up my spirit to see that I already have all things necessary when I am in You.  Amen.

“In the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true” (2 Corinthians 6:7-8)

The Lord is in all and through all.  That is, He who knows all things works even through all of those who rebel against Him for His glory to those ends which He has determined.  Be not as one who is in rebellion, but as one who willingly walks in the way of the Lord and rejoice that He has given you your portion amongst the children of Zion.  Come and rejoice in His goodness and mercy.

Teach me, Lord, that in good times and bad, You are there.  Lead me that I may face every circumstance trusting in Your provision and grace.  No matter what I do, honorable or dishonorable, remind me that Your grace is more than sufficient. In You, Lord, is all hope and glory.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I may now and always walk firmly within Your arms of mercy.

Lord Jesus, God in the flesh, You have come to walk through all of life’s circumstances and take upon Yourself our sins that we might be set free from sin, death and the devil.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth that You established in the beginning that I may learn, live and love Your way, truth and life.  Lift my countenance above all circumstances that I would see You above all things.  Amen.

“In beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love” (2 Corinthians 6:5-6)

The call of the Lord is to come into and live His love. Yes, we each suffer many things. What has the Lord suffered as He created this creation to watch it rebel against Him? Sometimes we become conditional in our life and because of circumstances, harbor bitterness. Rather than react in rebellion, come to the place where you love because you were first loved. God is love.

Lord, I can do nothing about what happens to me. Lead me to rejoice that You are with me every step of the way. Lead me in the truth of life, that You are love and have loved us so much that You gave Your only begotten Son that we may not perish, but be with You eternally. Guide me, O Lord, in the way of truth that I may walk in the way of life and love now and forever.

Lord Jesus, You love us more than we can imagine. You even said that there is no greater love than that one would lay down their life for another. This is what You have done for each one of us. Lead me, Lord, to understand more fully the gift You have given me that I may respond and learn to love as You love. Teach me to love, Lord, that I may put You on and become like You. Amen.