Total Absence of an Exit 2 Corinthians 1:8-10NJK
For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,
Trouble came to Paul and his followers in Asia. Seemingly, this followed the writing of Paul in 1 Corinthians that happened in and around the city of Ephesus. Details of this situation aren’t known, however; Paul writes, “so that we despaired even of life.”
The greek word for ‘despaired’ means, “no passage,” the total absence of an exit.
Have you ever had a time in your life when it looked like it was the end of the road for you and your dreams?
Did you think there was no why out? Did it look like there were so many problems stacked against you that you’d never survive what you were facing?
2 Corinthians 1:9 could be translated: “As far as we were concerned, the final verdict was in, and verdict demanded our deaths...”
2 Timothy 4:6NKJ For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.
1 Corinthians 16:9NKJ For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
I’m reading a book called- “Running For My Life.” Lopez Lomong- A Christian church service is raided by a squad of armed soldiers in Southern Sudan.
2 Corinthians 1:9NKJ Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,
Listen, Paul was absolutely sure he was going to die for the gospel that he had pronounced the sentence upon himself. (The Lord took Paul to the point at which he could not fall back on any intellectual, physical, or emotional human resource.
Paul understood (was very aware) that trust in God’s power to raise the dead was the only hope of rescue from his extreme circumstances.
Jeremiah 17:5-7NKJ Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited.7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:5-7TM "Cursed is the strong one who depends on mere humans, Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone and sets God aside as dead weight. He's like a tumbleweed on the prairie, out of touch with the good earth. He lives rootless and aimless in a land where nothing grows. 7"But blessed is the man who trusts me, God, the woman who sticks with God.
Jeremiah contrasted the person who experiences barrenness and another who receives blessings. Trust placed in man or trust vested in the Lord. The contrast in vitality is between being like a parched dwarf tree in the desert, or a tree drawing sustenance from a stream to bear fruit.
2 Corinthians 1:10TM And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he'll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don't want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God's deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part.
Hear me, “The Lord will always fulfill His promise- ‘I will never leave you are forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
2 Peter 2:9NLT So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.
This refers to severe divine judgment. God’s pattern through out history is to recuse the godly before His judgement falls on the wicked.
The ungodly will all be raised, judged and cast into the lake of fire.
Mark 8:11NLT When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
Jesus told them they didn’t need a sign.
Confession: I confess that God’s resurrection power is released on my behalf to turn all dead-end situations in my life around! I do not trust in my own efforts or human thinking but in God and His life-giving power. I choose to partake of this power today by releasing every dead-end place to the Lord. I trust Him to perfect that which concerns me, and I look to see His power made manifest this day in my life!
Benediction.
