Compassion and Confidence in God
2 Corinthians 1:1-11
I can’t think of any two things we need more when we are going through trouble than compassion and confidence in God.
I searched for a person to relate to on compassion for people and who learned the power of having confidence in God, and God alone. Hands down, the Apostle Paul fits and was a man like you and me.
Paul was, perhaps, the most persecuted Apostle. He was imprisoned, flogged, and exposed to death more than any other Apostle. Five times he was flogged thirty-nine times by the Jews for preaching the gospel. He was officially flogged one hundred and ninety-five times for preaching the gospel, but he did not look back.
Apostle Paul was three times beaten with rods for preaching the gospel, yet his faith grew stronger. He was once stoned for preaching the gospel, yet he did not deny Jesus. Three times, his ship was damaged on the ocean when he was on a missionary journey, yet he continued. He once spent two days at the open sea because his ship was wrecked, yet, he did not turn back from the cross.
Apostle Paul suffered many dangers and risks on the sea. Also, in the hands of robbers, and by fellow Hebrews, also in the wilderness, on the sea, and among unbelievers. He went for many days without water and food, not because he was fasting but because there was no food or water to drink during his missionary journey.
A.W. Tozer said, “Before God can use a person greatly, he must allow that person to be hurt greatly.”
We have two sections today.
1). Compassion for others
2). Confidence in God
1). Compassion for others
2 Corinthians 1:1 (NLT)
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to God's church in Corinth and to all of his holy people throughout Greece.
… the will of God I talk to a lot of people about the will of God. There seems to be this ongoing quest for all of us about the will of God, and most of the time that we’re talking to people about the will of God, it’s always in their minds some “distant” thing that’s off in the future, somewhere, that we’re pursuing. The will of God is – today. It’s while we’re here today. It’s when we go and leave from here, today. Today is a part of the will of God for your life. If the will of God was a large, thick novel, we would (by people saying the will of God is way out there somewhere) skip the Table of Contents, skip the first few pages, and want to turn to the back of the book and find out how it all ends up. But it doesn’t work like that.
To bring this into perspective, what is it right now that you know that God wants you to do or maybe not do? And when you open your Bible in the morning, and when you pray to God, and when you listen to Bible studies, what is it that God seems to be constantly and consistently, and lovingly speaking to you about? You see, that right there is the will of God for your life, today.
So, the thing about that is, that page in the book doesn’t turn until we submit to that, and agree to that, and walk in that, and then we get to turn the page and the book goes on. Right? So, the will of God is not a big mystery. Whatever is going on in your life right now, and what God is trying to help you through, that is the will of God for your life right now.
…apostle of Christ Jesus That word “apostle” means a special messenger. Certainly, he was educated. Certainly, he was qualified by life experience. He had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. This guy was a special messenger for Christ Jesus.
…God’s church You hear a lot of these commercials and things about this event that has happened at this man’s church. And you’ll hear an advertisement about this that is going on at this man’s church. And the truth is, it is God’s church. And there just so happens to be a man that’s an ambassador or an overseer of the church. We have to remember that nobody owns the church.
…holy people You may say, well, I’m out! That’s not me! A holy person (for lack of better terms) is a saint. But not the one on the necklace. We are talking about a born-again believer who is set apart for the work of God. We’re not what we used to be, but we’re not what we should be either. But being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
2 Corinthians 1:2 (NLT)
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Speaking of grace, it is more than “Oh, by the grace of God he protected me from this, he helped me, etc.”
Grace doesn’t stop with me. It’s an opportunity to experience unmerited favor from God so that you can turn to someone else and do the same.
Peace is the absence of friction, in this case, between me and God, you and God. The result of peace with God is fearing nothing from God, right in the middle of the circumstances you find yourself in, no matter what it is. You are not (as they say) in the “eye of the storm.” You truly trust that you are literally in God’s hands. Your circumstances may be unbearable, but you have stopped fighting and arguing with God, so you can have peace, calm, and the absence of friction in the storm. You are no longer fighting the Creator of the Universe (smart move), but now you’re only dealing with the circumstances.
“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” – Corrie Ten Boom
So, when you trust the engineer, you can have peace, calm, and the absence of friction with the engineer on your dark train ride when you don’t see any light.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Psalm 37:3 (NKJV)
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Put your weight, and your hope, and your trust in God, and do the right thing. Dwell in the land… enjoy life. Take a moment and recall all that God has done for you, all that he has carried you through, all that he has helped you through, and feed on his faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Be okay with where you’re at. Man, that’s hard to do.
2 Corinthians 1:3 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
…merciful Father The word “mercy” means not getting what you deserve. He did that for you in that instance, but not to solely keep you out of trouble. It’s to give you the opportunity to share with those weighted down and overwhelmed with trouble because you have first-hand knowledge of God’s mercy.
…the source of all comfort Not the Sleep Number bed. Not goose-down pillows. Not creature comfort. Not comfort food (number one comfort food? Pizza)
No matter what the world tries to convince you of God…is the source of all comfort. Bringing reassurance, encouragement, support, relief, strengthening, help, empowering us with courage.
To be used by God, you must have first-hand knowledge, life-changing, the never-going-to-be-the-same experience of God’s peace, God’s comfort, God’s mercy.
The troubles in our lives have a much bigger purpose. They’re not a “test.” This one thought was right in one of the worship songs we sang earlier. The troubles in our lives do have a much bigger purpose, but God shows you his heart in our troubles. He shows us his love, his care, his concern. He shows us his heart in our times of trouble. The problem is, we are trying to run so fast and trying to get out of it.
God doesn’t cause the troubles, but he uses them to permanently brand you with compassion and care for people.
2 Corinthians 1:4 (NLT)
4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
…in all our troubles God doesn’t cause them. He doesn’t guarantee to cure them, but he promises to comfort you in them.
…so that we can comfort others when they are in trouble The very moment we embrace the comfort of God and stop begging for the solution, we become a powerful tool in the hand of God for someone else in trouble.
2 Corinthians 1:5 (NLT)
5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
God’s hand is not too short that he cannot reach us with his comfort.
“No pit is so deep that God is not deeper still.” – Corrie Ten Boom
Have you seen a man or woman with incredible compassion for others? You might say, where did they get that kind of compassion for people? They embraced the trouble in their life. They leaned into their wound. Their heart has been touched or branded by God, and they are permanently changed. They see a hurting person, and now the supernatural response is, I don’t know if I can help you, but let’s sit down and I will tell you about who can, from a personal experience.
2 Corinthians 1:6 (NLT)
6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.
Even when we are weighed down with troubles… Are you in trouble this morning? Are you hurting this morning?
My mom used to say to me when I was a boy, “Jeffrey, go to your room! You’re in trouble!”
God doesn’t want to send you away; he wants to draw you in and embrace this trouble with you. It’s been your natural tendency to run, to have a pity party, to cover up your hurt. Allow God to meet you right in the middle of it, today. We don’t physically run. Other ways we might “run” are we don’t allow, or we suppress God, by not letting him into our trouble. We purposefully bring distraction in our life, as well, rather than inviting God in, allowing him to come into our trouble.
God wants to rescue you and then immediately use you to help someone else. Your story is someone else’s lifeline.
…it is for your comfort and salvation! I say this all the time, but it’s true. God uses people to help people.
2 Corinthians 1:7 (NLT)
7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
By personal experience, God has allowed each of us our fair share of trouble in our lives. Some, self-inflicted. Some, caused by others. God did not cause it – as our insurance companies say – Oh, I’m sorry. We will not cover your claim because this is an “Act of God.” Boy, are they trying to subtly give God a bad rap?
God might not change your circumstance like you want, but he will comfort and carry you to the other side of it. He is waiting for you to invite him into your trouble. The church is a hospital with broken and hurting people needing God’s comfort and wants you to be a part of the process to help one another through troubles. My “once” pain and hurt is your encouragement for today. Your “once” trouble is my reminder that God is more than enough hope to carry me through today.
So, just to reassure us that we are not alone and the only one who experiences trouble, let’s look at the next section of our text.
2). Confidence in God
2 Corinthians 1:8 (NLT)
8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.
…We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, Have you been there? Are you in this place right now? Let me encourage you with our only cross-reference scripture for the day.
Jeremiah 18:1-4 (NLT)
1 The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,
So here is another example of how God’s will is brought to our attention on a daily basis. The Lord gave Jeremiah another message. The messages keep coming. The encouragement keeps coming from God, and we decide whether or not we’re going to adhere to that, listen to that, and follow through with that so that we can “turn the page” in this book of the will of God for our lives.
2 "Go down to the potter's shop, and I will speak to you there."
3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.
4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
When God allows us to get crushed, he puts us back together. Not the way we were, but the way he wants us to be. He uses this new start in your life. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (1 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). He gives you this new start, and he uses the new start to bless, comfort, and encourage others, immediately.
2 Corinthians 1:9 (NLT)
9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.
In fact, we expected to die. It’s hard to admit, but if we are honest, we have all been in that place more than once, and even more than we would like to admit. There’s probably a time when we didn’t want to get through it either. We didn’t care if we got through whatever it was, or not. We worried about if we were going to get through it, and then it just got so difficult we just said, I don’t even care if I get through this or not. It doesn’t even matter.
We get to this place by hopelessness. Hopelessness is inflamed by removing God from our troubles or not allowing God to be a part of the process, so we take all the weight and responsibility on ourselves and before long we are hopelessly underwater.
But Paul has the perfect answer for us all. The cure for hopelessness… quit trying to walk through the trouble on your own.
But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned (we’ve been “branded” and our life is never the same from that point on) to rely only on God.
Here are five quick steps to learn to start relying on God.
Step 1 – Admit you don’t have this. You don’t “got this.”
In fact, how’s it going? We have to admit we don’t have this. I thought I did, but I try to dull it out, and I try to distract it out, and I try to drown it out. I don’t have this. I might be doing this dance right now, but I don’t have this. I admit it.
Step 2 – Stop running from God
We don’t have to physically “run”, it is the dulling and suppressing it out. You’re running from God. You’re purposefully putting a distraction in the path where God wants to help us. Or, you could just be drowning it out. There’re so many different ways you can pick to do that.
Step 3 – Embrace the trouble in your life
It’s hard to hug that. It hurts. We need to own it. It really is there. I know you suppress it or you drowned it out, but you wake up the next morning, guess what? It’s there, again. It’s right there. So, we need to own it.
Step 4 – Invite God to meet you in the trouble
Own it, and then say, “Okay, Lord. This is my problem, but man, I need your help. I cannot do this. I cannot do this.”
Step 5 – Repeat as often as needed
Honestly, we are stubborn, prideful people. The truth is, it must be repeated as often as needed. Sometimes you have to take a few steps back to re-evaluate and begin the process again.
…learned to rely only on God It’s that sense of being “branded for life.” Embrace God in your trouble. Pour your heart out to him. Tell him you can’t go another step unless he rescues you.
And then, share your trouble with a trusted friend who will walk with you through the trouble, praying for God’s help and direction – together.
In the last part of verse 9, I have thought, why did Paul throw this in here?
…who raises the dead. If we need a reminder of who we are and who God is, when is the last time you raised someone from the dead? Whatever we are going through – God has raised people from the dead. I think he’s “got it.”
2 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)
10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and He will continue to rescue us.
How many different times in your life have you thought “this trouble in my life, right now, is the hardest thing I have ever had to go through in my life”? Was it in fifth grade when they gave you that fractions test for math? And you said, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life.
Was it in Junior High or even High School, when they said – Okay, you have to run a ten-minute mile, in physical education? Was it when you went to go take your written driver’s test – or behind the wheel? Maybe it was when you got your first ticket, and you had to go home and tell your parents.
Just think of all the things for a minute. Think of all the times that deep down inside, you knew at that moment of your life, (however old you were), you said, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. As we get older, we look back on those things, we are aware of them, and we think, wow, I was fretting over those fractions, and I’ve got things going on that I don’t even know how I’m getting through.
…he did rescue us It is healthy, good, and edifying to think back and remember and recall all that God has done for your life. Whatever you’re going through – right this moment – right at this second, take a moment and think back on all the times that God has brought you through the different “hardest times” of your life.
…he will rescue us again That is a statement on personal experience. That’s a proclamation. Based on everything that God has done for me and how he has carried me, and walked me through, and got me through every difficult time of my life, I can say that he will rescue me again, now – in whatever I am in right now. Based on a fact and experience of what God has done and is doing in my life.
We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. We have the past of what God has done gives us the strength to live today in what we’re going through and we’ve got a hope of a future that he will rescue us again. We have the past. We have the present. And the future, all in one verse.
You might think it would be easier to watch church from home. Or maybe, go through your troubles all alone. You might think that. But look at what you are missing.
2 Corinthians 1:11 (NLT)
11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.
Praying for one another… You would miss out on this if you wanted to do this all on your own. There is a real joy in being a part of when people call, or ask, or bring up something, and I’m able to say – let me pray for you. I learned a long time ago, that when people ask me, Will you pray for me about this? Oh yeah, I’ll continue to pray. Instead – it’s “Okay. Let’s pray, right now.” There is so much power in that. I’ve been branded by God over that before, where I wish I would have prayed right then for that person because something happened.
We would miss out on praying for one another. You would miss out on hearing the testimonies of what God has done – because you are all alone. But when you’re working with somebody, and praying with somebody, and talking with somebody, you get to be a part of how God answers the prayer in their life. And they share what God is doing in their life. And you get to be a part of that.
And this encourages you – the answered prayers in our lives. We prayed, and this happened, guess what I’ll do the next time I have a problem… I’ll pray. We get to share what God is doing in our lives on a regular basis. On a regular basis.
When you get to pray with somebody, you are literally co-laboring with God when you pray with them. We don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but you get to be a part of it. You know, you can see things from the grandstands – the top seat of the stadium – or you can be right down on the field where the game is going on. You need to make a decision.
I searched for a person to relate to on compassion for people and who learned the power of having confidence in God, and God alone. Hands down, the Apostle Paul fits and was a man like you and me.
Paul was, perhaps, the most persecuted Apostle. He was imprisoned, flogged, and exposed to death more than any other Apostle. Five times he was flogged thirty-nine times by the Jews for preaching the gospel. He was officially flogged one hundred and ninety-five times for preaching the gospel, but he did not look back.
Apostle Paul was three times beaten with rods for preaching the gospel, yet his faith grew stronger. He was once stoned for preaching the gospel, yet he did not deny Jesus. Three times, his ship was damaged on the ocean when he was on a missionary journey, yet he continued. He once spent two days at the open sea because his ship was wrecked, yet, he did not turn back from the cross.
Apostle Paul suffered many dangers and risks on the sea. Also, in the hands of robbers, and by fellow Hebrews, also in the wilderness, on the sea, and among unbelievers. He went for many days without water and food, not because he was fasting but because there was no food or water to drink during his missionary journey.
A.W. Tozer said, “Before God can use a person greatly, he must allow that person to be hurt greatly.”
We have two sections today.
1). Compassion for others
2). Confidence in God
1). Compassion for others
2 Corinthians 1:1 (NLT)
1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. I am writing to God's church in Corinth and to all of his holy people throughout Greece.
… the will of God I talk to a lot of people about the will of God. There seems to be this ongoing quest for all of us about the will of God, and most of the time that we’re talking to people about the will of God, it’s always in their minds some “distant” thing that’s off in the future, somewhere, that we’re pursuing. The will of God is – today. It’s while we’re here today. It’s when we go and leave from here, today. Today is a part of the will of God for your life. If the will of God was a large, thick novel, we would (by people saying the will of God is way out there somewhere) skip the Table of Contents, skip the first few pages, and want to turn to the back of the book and find out how it all ends up. But it doesn’t work like that.
To bring this into perspective, what is it right now that you know that God wants you to do or maybe not do? And when you open your Bible in the morning, and when you pray to God, and when you listen to Bible studies, what is it that God seems to be constantly and consistently, and lovingly speaking to you about? You see, that right there is the will of God for your life, today.
So, the thing about that is, that page in the book doesn’t turn until we submit to that, and agree to that, and walk in that, and then we get to turn the page and the book goes on. Right? So, the will of God is not a big mystery. Whatever is going on in your life right now, and what God is trying to help you through, that is the will of God for your life right now.
…apostle of Christ Jesus That word “apostle” means a special messenger. Certainly, he was educated. Certainly, he was qualified by life experience. He had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. This guy was a special messenger for Christ Jesus.
…God’s church You hear a lot of these commercials and things about this event that has happened at this man’s church. And you’ll hear an advertisement about this that is going on at this man’s church. And the truth is, it is God’s church. And there just so happens to be a man that’s an ambassador or an overseer of the church. We have to remember that nobody owns the church.
…holy people You may say, well, I’m out! That’s not me! A holy person (for lack of better terms) is a saint. But not the one on the necklace. We are talking about a born-again believer who is set apart for the work of God. We’re not what we used to be, but we’re not what we should be either. But being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
2 Corinthians 1:2 (NLT)
2 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Speaking of grace, it is more than “Oh, by the grace of God he protected me from this, he helped me, etc.”
Grace doesn’t stop with me. It’s an opportunity to experience unmerited favor from God so that you can turn to someone else and do the same.
Peace is the absence of friction, in this case, between me and God, you and God. The result of peace with God is fearing nothing from God, right in the middle of the circumstances you find yourself in, no matter what it is. You are not (as they say) in the “eye of the storm.” You truly trust that you are literally in God’s hands. Your circumstances may be unbearable, but you have stopped fighting and arguing with God, so you can have peace, calm, and the absence of friction in the storm. You are no longer fighting the Creator of the Universe (smart move), but now you’re only dealing with the circumstances.
“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.” – Corrie Ten Boom
So, when you trust the engineer, you can have peace, calm, and the absence of friction with the engineer on your dark train ride when you don’t see any light.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Psalm 37:3 (NKJV)
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Put your weight, and your hope, and your trust in God, and do the right thing. Dwell in the land… enjoy life. Take a moment and recall all that God has done for you, all that he has carried you through, all that he has helped you through, and feed on his faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Be okay with where you’re at. Man, that’s hard to do.
2 Corinthians 1:3 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
…merciful Father The word “mercy” means not getting what you deserve. He did that for you in that instance, but not to solely keep you out of trouble. It’s to give you the opportunity to share with those weighted down and overwhelmed with trouble because you have first-hand knowledge of God’s mercy.
…the source of all comfort Not the Sleep Number bed. Not goose-down pillows. Not creature comfort. Not comfort food (number one comfort food? Pizza)
No matter what the world tries to convince you of God…is the source of all comfort. Bringing reassurance, encouragement, support, relief, strengthening, help, empowering us with courage.
To be used by God, you must have first-hand knowledge, life-changing, the never-going-to-be-the-same experience of God’s peace, God’s comfort, God’s mercy.
The troubles in our lives have a much bigger purpose. They’re not a “test.” This one thought was right in one of the worship songs we sang earlier. The troubles in our lives do have a much bigger purpose, but God shows you his heart in our troubles. He shows us his love, his care, his concern. He shows us his heart in our times of trouble. The problem is, we are trying to run so fast and trying to get out of it.
God doesn’t cause the troubles, but he uses them to permanently brand you with compassion and care for people.
2 Corinthians 1:4 (NLT)
4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
…in all our troubles God doesn’t cause them. He doesn’t guarantee to cure them, but he promises to comfort you in them.
…so that we can comfort others when they are in trouble The very moment we embrace the comfort of God and stop begging for the solution, we become a powerful tool in the hand of God for someone else in trouble.
2 Corinthians 1:5 (NLT)
5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
God’s hand is not too short that he cannot reach us with his comfort.
“No pit is so deep that God is not deeper still.” – Corrie Ten Boom
Have you seen a man or woman with incredible compassion for others? You might say, where did they get that kind of compassion for people? They embraced the trouble in their life. They leaned into their wound. Their heart has been touched or branded by God, and they are permanently changed. They see a hurting person, and now the supernatural response is, I don’t know if I can help you, but let’s sit down and I will tell you about who can, from a personal experience.
2 Corinthians 1:6 (NLT)
6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.
Even when we are weighed down with troubles… Are you in trouble this morning? Are you hurting this morning?
My mom used to say to me when I was a boy, “Jeffrey, go to your room! You’re in trouble!”
God doesn’t want to send you away; he wants to draw you in and embrace this trouble with you. It’s been your natural tendency to run, to have a pity party, to cover up your hurt. Allow God to meet you right in the middle of it, today. We don’t physically run. Other ways we might “run” are we don’t allow, or we suppress God, by not letting him into our trouble. We purposefully bring distraction in our life, as well, rather than inviting God in, allowing him to come into our trouble.
God wants to rescue you and then immediately use you to help someone else. Your story is someone else’s lifeline.
…it is for your comfort and salvation! I say this all the time, but it’s true. God uses people to help people.
2 Corinthians 1:7 (NLT)
7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
By personal experience, God has allowed each of us our fair share of trouble in our lives. Some, self-inflicted. Some, caused by others. God did not cause it – as our insurance companies say – Oh, I’m sorry. We will not cover your claim because this is an “Act of God.” Boy, are they trying to subtly give God a bad rap?
God might not change your circumstance like you want, but he will comfort and carry you to the other side of it. He is waiting for you to invite him into your trouble. The church is a hospital with broken and hurting people needing God’s comfort and wants you to be a part of the process to help one another through troubles. My “once” pain and hurt is your encouragement for today. Your “once” trouble is my reminder that God is more than enough hope to carry me through today.
So, just to reassure us that we are not alone and the only one who experiences trouble, let’s look at the next section of our text.
2). Confidence in God
2 Corinthians 1:8 (NLT)
8 We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.
…We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, Have you been there? Are you in this place right now? Let me encourage you with our only cross-reference scripture for the day.
Jeremiah 18:1-4 (NLT)
1 The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,
So here is another example of how God’s will is brought to our attention on a daily basis. The Lord gave Jeremiah another message. The messages keep coming. The encouragement keeps coming from God, and we decide whether or not we’re going to adhere to that, listen to that, and follow through with that so that we can “turn the page” in this book of the will of God for our lives.
2 "Go down to the potter's shop, and I will speak to you there."
3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.
4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
When God allows us to get crushed, he puts us back together. Not the way we were, but the way he wants us to be. He uses this new start in your life. If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (1 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV). He gives you this new start, and he uses the new start to bless, comfort, and encourage others, immediately.
2 Corinthians 1:9 (NLT)
9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead.
In fact, we expected to die. It’s hard to admit, but if we are honest, we have all been in that place more than once, and even more than we would like to admit. There’s probably a time when we didn’t want to get through it either. We didn’t care if we got through whatever it was, or not. We worried about if we were going to get through it, and then it just got so difficult we just said, I don’t even care if I get through this or not. It doesn’t even matter.
We get to this place by hopelessness. Hopelessness is inflamed by removing God from our troubles or not allowing God to be a part of the process, so we take all the weight and responsibility on ourselves and before long we are hopelessly underwater.
But Paul has the perfect answer for us all. The cure for hopelessness… quit trying to walk through the trouble on your own.
But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned (we’ve been “branded” and our life is never the same from that point on) to rely only on God.
Here are five quick steps to learn to start relying on God.
Step 1 – Admit you don’t have this. You don’t “got this.”
In fact, how’s it going? We have to admit we don’t have this. I thought I did, but I try to dull it out, and I try to distract it out, and I try to drown it out. I don’t have this. I might be doing this dance right now, but I don’t have this. I admit it.
Step 2 – Stop running from God
We don’t have to physically “run”, it is the dulling and suppressing it out. You’re running from God. You’re purposefully putting a distraction in the path where God wants to help us. Or, you could just be drowning it out. There’re so many different ways you can pick to do that.
Step 3 – Embrace the trouble in your life
It’s hard to hug that. It hurts. We need to own it. It really is there. I know you suppress it or you drowned it out, but you wake up the next morning, guess what? It’s there, again. It’s right there. So, we need to own it.
Step 4 – Invite God to meet you in the trouble
Own it, and then say, “Okay, Lord. This is my problem, but man, I need your help. I cannot do this. I cannot do this.”
Step 5 – Repeat as often as needed
Honestly, we are stubborn, prideful people. The truth is, it must be repeated as often as needed. Sometimes you have to take a few steps back to re-evaluate and begin the process again.
…learned to rely only on God It’s that sense of being “branded for life.” Embrace God in your trouble. Pour your heart out to him. Tell him you can’t go another step unless he rescues you.
And then, share your trouble with a trusted friend who will walk with you through the trouble, praying for God’s help and direction – together.
In the last part of verse 9, I have thought, why did Paul throw this in here?
…who raises the dead. If we need a reminder of who we are and who God is, when is the last time you raised someone from the dead? Whatever we are going through – God has raised people from the dead. I think he’s “got it.”
2 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)
10 And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and He will continue to rescue us.
How many different times in your life have you thought “this trouble in my life, right now, is the hardest thing I have ever had to go through in my life”? Was it in fifth grade when they gave you that fractions test for math? And you said, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life.
Was it in Junior High or even High School, when they said – Okay, you have to run a ten-minute mile, in physical education? Was it when you went to go take your written driver’s test – or behind the wheel? Maybe it was when you got your first ticket, and you had to go home and tell your parents.
Just think of all the things for a minute. Think of all the times that deep down inside, you knew at that moment of your life, (however old you were), you said, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. As we get older, we look back on those things, we are aware of them, and we think, wow, I was fretting over those fractions, and I’ve got things going on that I don’t even know how I’m getting through.
…he did rescue us It is healthy, good, and edifying to think back and remember and recall all that God has done for your life. Whatever you’re going through – right this moment – right at this second, take a moment and think back on all the times that God has brought you through the different “hardest times” of your life.
…he will rescue us again That is a statement on personal experience. That’s a proclamation. Based on everything that God has done for me and how he has carried me, and walked me through, and got me through every difficult time of my life, I can say that he will rescue me again, now – in whatever I am in right now. Based on a fact and experience of what God has done and is doing in my life.
We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. We have the past of what God has done gives us the strength to live today in what we’re going through and we’ve got a hope of a future that he will rescue us again. We have the past. We have the present. And the future, all in one verse.
You might think it would be easier to watch church from home. Or maybe, go through your troubles all alone. You might think that. But look at what you are missing.
2 Corinthians 1:11 (NLT)
11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety.
Praying for one another… You would miss out on this if you wanted to do this all on your own. There is a real joy in being a part of when people call, or ask, or bring up something, and I’m able to say – let me pray for you. I learned a long time ago, that when people ask me, Will you pray for me about this? Oh yeah, I’ll continue to pray. Instead – it’s “Okay. Let’s pray, right now.” There is so much power in that. I’ve been branded by God over that before, where I wish I would have prayed right then for that person because something happened.
We would miss out on praying for one another. You would miss out on hearing the testimonies of what God has done – because you are all alone. But when you’re working with somebody, and praying with somebody, and talking with somebody, you get to be a part of how God answers the prayer in their life. And they share what God is doing in their life. And you get to be a part of that.
And this encourages you – the answered prayers in our lives. We prayed, and this happened, guess what I’ll do the next time I have a problem… I’ll pray. We get to share what God is doing in our lives on a regular basis. On a regular basis.
When you get to pray with somebody, you are literally co-laboring with God when you pray with them. We don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but you get to be a part of it. You know, you can see things from the grandstands – the top seat of the stadium – or you can be right down on the field where the game is going on. You need to make a decision.