Believing and speaking

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.  – 2 Corinthians 4.13-15

Here Paul quotes a beautiful statement of faith from Pslam 116. The psalmist speaks of dealing with great turmoil and difficulty

  I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications.   Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live. The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.Then I called upon the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!"Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling. I will walk before the LORD In the land of the living. I believed, therefore I spoke, "I am greatly afflicted."

The psalmist speaks because he had confidence He decided to speak about the Lord based on who Godwas, not because of what he saw around him. He, like Paul, saw trouble and opposition. He didn't wait till things improved before he spoke out. He looked back at all that God had already done and then said, quite simply, 'I believed therefore. I spoke.' 

Paul said, 'we also believe, and so we speak.' Paul don't base his ministry on what he saw. He based his ministry on the fact that the God who raised Jesus from the dead will also raise believers from the dead. He knew that God would present believers to the Father one day. Everything that had happened had happened so that the grace of God would cause thanksgiving to abound that God would be glorified. 

Paul had eyes for eternity. His eyes were focused on the result of the preaching, not the temporary situations. 

They believed - so they spoke. 

Could it be that our lack of speaking is a result of a lack of belief?