"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE WHEN YOU ARE DOING GOD'S WORK, BUT, IT ALL LOOKS HOPELESS"
2nd Cor 1:8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.
2nd Cor 1:9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
Some explanatory thoughts, application and prayer:
1. Paul did want the Corinthians to be without the knowledge of how difficult things had gotten in his ministry activities.
He goes into great detail explaining it to them.
2. For example in 1:8, he calls it trouble, burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.
3. Let's look at how bad it actually was. Trouble, means, affliction, anguish, persecution, a pressing together, great pressure, oppression. ( in England at one time, they used to execute criminals by "pressing them" that is, they would lay heavy stones and rocks on them, and press them to death. Thats the idea behind this word trouble. He was in today's language under "alot of pressure" to say the least.
4. The other words, above strength, mean, they had literally no more strength to face the troubles they were in, but, here's the main one that says the most, "so that we despaired even of life" which means, they had come to the place where they thought they were going to die. By the way, Paul does not go into the details of the situation, other then to describe their own personal thoughts and feelings. But, it was perhaps due to a riot that took place while in Ephesus, see Acts 19, and or the other things that are recorded for us in 11th chapter of this letter, all of which happened to him as he was traveling through Greece doing the work of God. ( it's worth taking a look there to see what he went through. See 2nd Cor 11:23-28
5. Here is the main point he wanted to get across to them, and I believe to us who are facing what we might call hopeless situation, when all "looks lost" as we say, or "when all things are against me" and so on. Here it is. 2nd Cor 1:9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
This means, he really thought it was over for him. He could see no way out, and figured this was it, this was the end, I'm going to die. But, notice please at the end of the verse, because here's the lesson he learned, and God wants us to learn also. "That we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead" In other words, God brought Paul to what he thought was the end, he could see no way out, so, he in a sense had to trust God. Isn't that great. God used the situation to bring him to trusting in God.
6. Here's how it reads in the NLT with an extra verse added.
2nd Cor 1:8 I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it.
2nd Cor 1:9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead.
2nd Cor 1:10 And he did deliver us from mortal danger. And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us.
What Paul says, that they were learning to not rely on themselves, but on God. He adds, that God did deliver them, and that they were confident God would continue to deliver them.
A prayer:
Father, what a great passage this is from Your Word. Thank You for it. It hits the spot with us. We often feel just as Paul did. But, these verses help us understand, that You also want us to learn to trust in You, and not in ourselves. We need to learn these things Lord, and we pray that You would help us to learn, teach us Lord. Thus, we can approach these time where it may seem hopeless, and realize that it's not. Because You are here, and we can put our trust in You, and You are our deliverer.
