Hope Part 2

Hope Part 2

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:8-10; James 1:2-4; 4:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:3

Two weeks ago I delivered part one of this two part message on Hope. This morning in part two I want to speak specifically to you about hope as children of God. You see, Christians lose hope just like non-Christians and because of this we too can take the extreme steps of ending our lives. This morning I want you to know that our Father knows that we will experience times of hopelessness and it is during those times that we can patiently turn to Him and receive what we need to keep going. We are never alone no matter how much the darkness seems to increase around us.

This morning we are going to take a closer look at what Paul recorded in Second Corinthians chapter one. We will begin reading at verse eight. “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 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.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-10)

Paul wrote that they were burdened excessively, beyond their strength, insomuch that they despaired of life. He said that they had a death sentence within themselves and thus they could not trust themselves. Can you see their state of mind? Can you feel how hopeless they were feeling within their own strength? They had nothing left. They felt trapped by the crushing ordeals in their ministry and through Paul’s own words we know that he didn’t know if they would survive. I want you to see this clearly. Many people believe that because someone is a Christian that life is good and full of blessings. Some even teach falsely that the more you give financially the more blessing (health and financial) that you will have and receive. In actuality, life is harder as a Christian because the expectation is that when we encounter times of hopelessness we are supposed to be strong. We are not supposed to have those feelings because we are people of faith. We are not supposed to have feelings of doubt and question if our lives actually mean anything. As a Christian we are supposed to know that life is good and God is always there.

Can you see where I am going with this? Through Paul’s letter God lets us know that we will experience times when we too might fall into feelings of hopelessness. The writer of two-thirds of the New Testament admitted that what he was dealing with was so heavy that he was unsure if he would be able to bear it. Paul’s words in these verses teach us what we should do when we feel like we simply cannot make it any further in our own strength. It tells us what to do when we are facing challenges that, in our minds, seem way too difficult for us to overcome. He simply says that we must surrender to the resurrection power of God, which is what he himself did. When Paul wrote these words he was at a dead place – the place I talked about previously where you open one door just to find another door that needs opening and you never reach the door that allows you to walk through. This is what Paul was facing when he wrote these words.

When Paul said, “we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves” the use of the word “sentence” carried the meaning of a jury handing down a verdict and a final judgment in a court of law. By using this word Paul told us that so many problems were stacked against him and his companions that, by all appearances, it seemed like there was no way for them to escape or survive. They were at a dead-end with nowhere else to go. The odds were against them. The cards were stacked against them. Why didn’t Paul give up? Why didn’t he throw up his hands and say “What’s the use?” Now here me clearly on this because there are many Christians who find themselves in this place but do not take the stance that Paul took. Paul said that their situation and problems looked so insurmountable that, as far as he was concerned, it seemed there was only one possible outcome – death. This tells me that the thought of death definitely crossed Paul’s mind as he thought about the hopelessness of his situation. Doors closing. One after another. Paul, however, chose a different course of action versus giving in and giving up.