Daily Dose of Hope

February 19, 2026

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4

Prayer: Holy God, Almighty Father, the Great I AM, Throughout all time, You are good. Your ways are perfect. Teach us your ways, Lord. Help us to know you better, to know you more. Lord, on our own, we are powerless. We are desperate for your wisdom, love, and mercy. More of you and less of me, Jesus. Amen.

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that goes along with the New Hope Bible reading plan. We have been on a journey through the letters of Paul, working through them chronologically. We started with Galatians, then we walked through I and 2 Thessalonians. We recently finished I Corinthians and now we are in 2 Corinthians. It's been a great journey thus far.

Today's reading is 2 Corinthians 4. Paul wants the Corinthians to know that his ministry is not about letters of judgment. Yes, he is sending them a letter of rebuke but that is different from judgment. He disapproves of their actions, but he loves them. Paul wants them to know that his is a ministry of the Holy Spirit. And where the Spirit is, there is freedom that comes from knowing and being transformed by Jesus.

The message of Jesus is an amazing treasure that we have been given, but we keep it in jars of clay, our frail, broken bodies. Jars of clay would have been a normal sight in Paul's day. They were basic, earthenware vessels, used for everything from cooking utensils to toilets. They were inexpensive but breakable and could easily be knocked over and damaged.

And we, as Christ-followers, get to be the vessels that hold the Good News of Jesus. God chooses to store his greatest treasure in our own weak and flawed human bodies. They aren't too unlike the clay jars, common and fragile. Yet, God chooses us. In all our brokenness, God chooses us. In the mess of the world, God chooses us. In the midst of hardship and oppression, God still chooses us. We get to be the bearers of the greatest news in the history of all humanity. God chooses us.

Just let that sink in a bit.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki