Paul begins his second (recorded) letter to the church in
Corinth in a very different tone than he did in his first. Whereas his first
letter was written in gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) rebuke, his second
letter begins by reminding them that God is:
The Father of all
mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction (v3)
He goes on to address both his (and his companions’) own
suffering and the suffering that all Christians experience.
Given how much Paul talks about his own suffering he was
obviously going through a difficult time. Through his suffering he makes
several observations on suffering:
For we do not want you
to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that were burdened
excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we
had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would 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, you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so
that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed
on us through the prayers of many. (v8-11)
1.
Despite their circumstances, Paul and his
companions trusted that God would deliver them. I find no greater source of
comfort than verse 10 where Paul states (after outlining the insufficiency of
their own bodies) that: “And He will yet
deliver us.” There are many circumstances in our lives which try and test
us beyond our capabilities. Whether it is sufferings, sicknesses, or
temptations, there are many situations in which we do not yet see the light of
victory. In fact, many times we don’t even see the slightest flicker of hope. Paul
knew of these, he says that he could not even trust he “despaired even of life”
yet Paul could also confidently proclaim that God would yet deliver them. If He
wanted to, God could just raise them from the dead, should they die. That kind
of trust is born not out of circumstance but rather out of knowledge of and a
relationship with our heavenly Father. Even when we see no reasonable cause for
joy; no logical reason for confidence, still even then we can rest in our
knowledge of the loving and faithful character of our Father.
2.
Secondly, we can see that prayer matters. After
outlining his struggles and expressing his unyielding hope in God, he
encourages the Corinthian Christians: “you
also joining in helping us through your prayers.” Not only does this verse
remind us that prayer does in some mysterious and unfathomable way, work in
affecting change, it also teaches that complete confidence in God does not
preclude us from seeking the means for rescue. Paul in essence says: I know
that God will deliver us, pray that God would deliver us. There is no
contradiction here. If anything, this reminds us of the means that God often
uses to accomplish his purposes. The Lord uses the actions and prayers of godly
men (among many other things) to accomplish his goals. Therefore we trust in
him knowing that: “God works for the good
of those who love him.” (Romans 8:28)
3. Thirdly, the purpose of Paul’s rescue is that people would
thank the Lord. We must always remember that the end game of our prayers is
that people (ourselves first of all) would praise and magnify the Creator.
While we of course seek the healing, rescue, and clarity that comes through
prayer but we must never forget that the ultimate aim is praise and honor to
God.
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