“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
(2 Corinthians 1:8-11 ESV)
One of the things that my dad passed on to me is the importance of a personal habit in Scripture. In my current youthfulness, I am trying to develop that habit, although it is frustratingly slow development! And so, right now, I am trying studying my way through 2 Corinthians. It’s a fantastic book filled with expression about living in the New Covenant initiated by Jesus our Lord. One of the things that the Lord keeps bringing to my mind is the passage 2 Cor. 1:8-11. There, Paul talks about some of the affliction he and his companions experienced that brought them to the point where they “despaired of life itself.” After this statement however, comes Paul’s vintage way of expressing hope and redemption in the midst of impossible situations. As he reflects on their affliction, he finds the purpose of God in it and says, “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”
Sarah and I, as we live our lives, find ourselves in seemingly impossible situations. Although, I don’t think its as bad as the affliction Paul went through, they still can bring despair and hopelessness. Sarah and I have a hard time with these situations because we are the type of people that want to help ourselves out on our own. “We don’t want anybody else to care for us, we got it,” is usually our thinking. And while this can be a good thing, it can turn sinful very quickly because we don’t want God to help us or deliver us. Or if he does help us, it needs to be according to how we think the help should be done. God’s deliverance should be done according to our agenda and plans. God breaks us of this sinful thinking by bringing us into impossible situations where we have no control and no ability to do anything. And while this is hard and frustrating and can bring despair, we take encouragement from Paul’s words here in 2 Corinthians. All of this is to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us and will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope.
As we serve him now and prepare to move overseas, God continues to remind us of these verses and of the truth that he is the sovereign ruler over all things and all things find their completion in him. Our ongoing battle is to believe this and to believe its a good thing.
