God is our Hope

"There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have 

grown hopeless about them." -- Clare Boothe Luce

      In ministry and in life it is easy to become discouraged and to lose our sense of focus. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 we are given the reason that we can always have hope. 

1. Our hope begins with desperation (vv. 8-9a)

2 Corinthians 1:8–9a (ESV) – “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.”

      We aren’t given any details about the affliction that Paul and his companions faced, but when you look at the language of verses 8-9 we find them in a desperate situation. Paul says that they were “utterly burdened beyond our strength.” This Greek word used here is often used to describe a pack animal that collapses under the weight of its load and is unable to get back up. 

     Paul goes on to say that they “despaired of life itself” and that they had “received the sentence of death.” We must not forget that this is the same Paul who was stoned, shipwrecked, snake bit, and beaten five times with in an inch of his life. And yet we find him here in Asia questioning whether he will survive this affliction or not.

      As we consider the future of Calvary Baptist Church, it is my hope and my prayer that God will bring us to a place of desperation.

2.   In desperation we find Hope (vv. 9b-10)

2 Corinthians 1:9b–10 (ESV) – “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”

      In the last part of verse 9, the apostle tells us that God’s purpose in allowing the affliction was that He wouldn’t trust in his own abilities, but that he would trust in the “God who raises the dead.”

      Did you notice what tense the verb “raise” is in?

      It is in the present tense. If it were in the past tense, Paul would have said, “God who raised the dead.” But it is in the present tense to emphasize that we serve a God who continues to display that resurrection power in the delivery of His children from impossible circumstances.

      In verse 10, Paul drives home the message of our hope with these words: “He delivered us . . . he will deliver us . . . he will deliver us again.”

      The second part of my prayer is that as God moves us to a place of desperation that we will learn to not trust in our own abilities, but we will trust  Him completely!

3.   Our commitment to one another (v. 11)

2 Corinthians 1:11 (ESV) – “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”

      The phrase “help us” in the Greek carries the idea of working together or cooperating.

      The final part of my prayer is that we would not only come to a place of desperation and learn that God is our only hope, but that we would commit together to be co-laborers in the ministry of prayer!

      Let us commit to one another to pray fervently and frequently, so that many will give thanks for all the blessings God has granted us.