The Answer

I suppose just about everyone who has gone through a hard time in their life asks the question, why? We may wonder if we have done something wrong and if God is punishing us. Some think that suffering is just their lot in life. Then, of course, there are periods when we go through hard times because we make foolish decisions. It’s been said when someone cries out “Watch this” you better have 911 on speed dial.

But what about those things that happen when we feel we are doing our best to live for the Lord? You go to church, read the Bible, and even invite people to church. You serve when and where you can and yet something happens, and it seems like the wheels are about to come off your life.

Problems and hardships come in many forms. We may have a bad financial situation and suddenly, our bills are greater than our income. It can come in the form of broken relationships. Then there are health issues that come out of nowhere. It’s in those times we may begin to doubt God’s presence or even His love for us.

The Apostle Paul ran into some difficult and harmful situations. This man gave his all for the kingdom of God, to proclaim the name of Jesus. He planted many churches, led many to salvation, and even wrote most of the New Testament. For all of his efforts, he was beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, and stoned. Paul states in II Corinthians 1:8, “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;” You can almost read the emotion in these words of what Paul was feeling.

How did Paul deal with all of what was happening to him? Did he doubt God’s love? Well, we see the answer in verses 9-10, “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.” Paul’s answer to all he is going through is that God is making sure that Paul is relying upon God and not himself. We can fall into the trap that we are in control, that we can fix things, and in doing so lose our reliance upon the Lord. Paul reminds us that if God can raise us from the dead, He can give us all we need in life. It is a reminder that our God is still in the business of delivering the broken and hurting and if He can deliver Paul and the other disciples then He can deliver you and me. We have not been abandoned, but are being reminded that our trust and reliance belong to our Lord.