Hope in God

In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Paul shares about some of his struggles. He talks about how they were overwhelmed so that they despaired of life. They had come to the end of themselves and yet had to continue on. What strikes me is in verse 9 where he says, “we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;” This is very significant. God brought them to a place where they could not trust in themselves and more. They had the sentence of death within them. Yet it didn’t end there. They put their trust in God. Not in themselves, not in their skills or abilities but in God. Maybe it took this incident or trial that Paul talks about to really bring about full surrender in his life to God. But Paul put his hope in God and God delivered them from the peril of death and Paul continues in this hope by saying God will deliver us. Not only has God delivered Paul already but God will continue to deliver him.

This led me to think about circumstances in my life that feel like they take me beyond what I can bear. I need to put my hope in God, not in people, in my strengths or anything else. My hope, your hope needs to be in the God who raises from the dead. The one who gives us hope when it seems that all hope is lost. The God who has promised to deliver us.