April 23, 2024 BEYOND OUR STRENGTH
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,”
We often hear it said that ‘God will not put more on us than we can bear.’ We need to look at that statement because that is not accurate. This view comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where it tells us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to resist-but will provide a way of escape. That is talking about being tempted to sin; not about enduring trials. There is a key truth we must embrace in this verse for today. There will be times when we will feel ‘the sentence of death within us’ just as Paul and his co-laborers did; they expected to die as a result of the great trial they faced. They had lost hope; it was a dark place. They could not see any solution or any way out. Most of us have experienced times when all seems lost-and there is nothing we can do. Here is the point we must not miss: God will allow us to be in a place where we see no way out and we feel the ‘sentence of death’ within us SO THAT we can learn to not trust in ourselves-or our ability to get out of a difficult place. WE CAN put our trust in God who delivers from the dead-and if He can raise the dead, He can deliver us. To put our trust in Him is saying we are incapable of delivering ourselves. In the trial, our place is to simply give up on trying to figure a way out and yield everything to Him. This does not mean we become idle; it does mean that we operate from a total trust in God to deliver us in anyway He chooses. When we no longer trust in ourselves but trust in God, we find hope. So, in the difficult times-and always-let us realize that on our own, we are not able to deliver ourselves; only God can deliver. The amazing thing is that when we surrender everything to God who loves us, we can actually find rest in the midst of the storm.
Psalm 50:15 “And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Blessings, Buddy
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,”
We often hear it said that ‘God will not put more on us than we can bear.’ We need to look at that statement because that is not accurate. This view comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where it tells us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to resist-but will provide a way of escape. That is talking about being tempted to sin; not about enduring trials. There is a key truth we must embrace in this verse for today. There will be times when we will feel ‘the sentence of death within us’ just as Paul and his co-laborers did; they expected to die as a result of the great trial they faced. They had lost hope; it was a dark place. They could not see any solution or any way out. Most of us have experienced times when all seems lost-and there is nothing we can do. Here is the point we must not miss: God will allow us to be in a place where we see no way out and we feel the ‘sentence of death’ within us SO THAT we can learn to not trust in ourselves-or our ability to get out of a difficult place. WE CAN put our trust in God who delivers from the dead-and if He can raise the dead, He can deliver us. To put our trust in Him is saying we are incapable of delivering ourselves. In the trial, our place is to simply give up on trying to figure a way out and yield everything to Him. This does not mean we become idle; it does mean that we operate from a total trust in God to deliver us in anyway He chooses. When we no longer trust in ourselves but trust in God, we find hope. So, in the difficult times-and always-let us realize that on our own, we are not able to deliver ourselves; only God can deliver. The amazing thing is that when we surrender everything to God who loves us, we can actually find rest in the midst of the storm.
Psalm 50:15 “And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”
Blessings, Buddy
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