2 Corinthians 1:8-10 English Standard Version
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a] of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 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. 10 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.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
True or False: Christians do not have to pretend life feels great all the time?
The apostle Paul certainly didn’t mind admitting to hardship.
In fact, Paul’s enormous trials led him to say of his troubles in Asia, “We despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.”
Trials and troubles of all magnitudes will inevitably come—and, like Paul, we don’t have to act as though everything is always fine.
As we are honest with ourselves and others about our trials, we must also remind ourselves that God has a purpose in our pain.
Paul says of his burden that “this was to make us rely not on ourselves.”
Isn’t it true that when life is going great, when everything seems rosy, we tend to just cruise along?
Then trouble hits, and suddenly we’re forced back to reliance on God.
He purposes affliction—illness, loss, difficulty in the workplace, a wayward child—that we might not rely on ourselves but on Him alone.
And what kind of God does Paul say we rely on in our trouble?
One “who raises the dead.”
In every death—both in the deaths of dreams, hopes, and health in life and then in death itself at the end of life—we can cling to God who has 100% triumphed over death and will lead us to fullness of life in eternity.
It is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ that God delivers us from sin now and frees us to hope in a final deliverance from all suffering and death.
As we await our full experience of resurrection hope, God uses our trials and weaknesses to keep us close to Him.
In Jesus’ own life, resurrection power came after crucifixion pain.
The same pattern holds for us.
It is in dying that we live.
It is in weakness that we are strong. It is in emptiness that we are full.
It is in self-forgetfulness that we find true security and confidence in God.
When God sovereignly allows affliction to shake up your life, remember He has designed that very trial for us to draw closer to Him and rely more fully on Him.
And as you learn to rely on Him more and more, His strength will shine through your weakness, and you will know true spiritual power, even through the pain.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
Psalm 16 English Standard Version
You Will Not Abandon My Soul
A Miktam[a] of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.[b]
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.[d]
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.[f]
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 