Struck Down but not Destroyed...

I just got home from a very long day at work. It was one of those days where you just want to raise your hands up in the air and yell, "I give up!" I am so tired....no, exhausted is more like it. I feel a little lost on the inside. I'm trying to stand up for what I believe and to not give in to the world. Everyday I am faced with things that are truly challenging me and draining me. My relationships are strained, my job is stressful, and I have the world breathing down my neck. I have just gotten to a point where I want to run away and leave my troubles behind. But we are called to stand firm in Christ when we are weak and let Him be our strength. These verses came to my mind this evening...

2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

I love scripture when it speaks such truth and encouragement. We are told that as Christians, we are going to be pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down. But the Lord promises that we WILL NOT BE DESTROYED and WILL NOT BE ABANDONED. I need to remember that as I go through hard days at work like today where I feel like I can't take anymore. The Lord will not abandon me and I just have to press on. Everything I am dealing with here on this earth is just a momentary glimpse of the eternity I will be spending in Heaven. To get through each day though, I really need to start asking the Lord for more patience and strength...