THE UPPER ROOM DEVOTIONAL 31ST MAY 2025, SATURDAY MESSAGE
Read The Upper Room Devotional 31st May 2025 written by Randy K. Hammer (Tennessee, USA)
TOPIC: Not Destroyed
Today’s Reading
2 Corinthians 4:8-12
We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed. – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NRSVUE)
While visiting Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, US, my wife and I were determined to photograph a painted lady butterfly. We had found one and chased it for a while before we realized that it had a damaged wing. Damaged wings are common among butterflies since they are prey for birds and other wildlife. If an attacked butterfly is fortunate enough to escape with its life, it may do so by losing a portion of one or both of its wings. To put it in Paul’s terms, it may be badly hurt or struck down, but not destroyed.
The apostle Paul recounts some of what he suffered in his travels while preaching the gospel and establishing new churches — imprisonment, whippings, stoning, shipwrecks, dangerous floods, the threat of robbers, hunger and thirst, and more (see 2 Cor. 11:23-28). In all cases, Paul was hurt, but not destroyed.
If we live long enough, most of us will suffer debilitating hurts — illness, accident, loss of property, death of loved ones, violence at the hand of another, and so on. The example of the injured butterfly that continued to enjoy the flowers of the field, coupled with the testimony of Paul, encourages us to see the opportunities in life in spite of injuries we have suffered. We may have been hurt, but with God’s grace we were not destroyed.
Today’s Prayer
God of grace, enable us to let go of past hurts so that we can enjoy life in the present. Amen.
Thought for the Day
I can be hurt, but by God’s grace I am not destroyed.
Prayer Focus
For release from past hurts
The Upper Room Devotional 31st May 2025, is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. Read More