“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)
This is quite a sentence, coming from one of the greatest apostles, the apostle Paul!
The man who had experienced shipwrecks, multiple beatings with the rod, and numerous imprisonments went through an experience where he thought he and his companions were going to die.
That is serious pressure!
Each of you is familiar with stress. You know what pressure is. We hope that in this pressure you have never felt the sentence of death, but perhaps during some tax seasons, maybe you have?
So, you might want to know how Paul made sense out of his situation, why he thought he had to experience such pressure. The second half of verse 9 gives the amazing answer:
“But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead.”
Sometimes the Lord deliberately engineers our circumstances in ways that cause hardship, difficulties, or pressure. He does this for the same reason that Paul discovered—that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God.
Rather than having us suffer for no reason, the Lord earnestly desires to help us out, to give us grace, strength, or wisdom in those pressurized times. During those times, our objective is to finish the job and get out of the situation. But His objective is something different.
His objective is our total reliance upon Him—for everything.
Next time the stress or pressure comes, take a small moment to give it over to the Lord, admit your powerlessness, and ask for His grace and strength to endure.
Then watch what God does for you!
The grace will come, and you will get through it.
You will not only survive, but prevail.
