The God of All Comfort, Part 3
2 Corinthians 1v8-11
21st February 2025
Beginning at 2 Corinthians 1v3, Paul has been writing about "the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort". He now writes about himself and his colleagues, and their experiences in Ephesus. He says:
2 Corinthians 1v8
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in
the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure, so that we despaired even of life.
Perhaps Paul's talking about persecution so strong that he thought his enemies would put him to death. There's evidence that he was imprisoned in Ephesus. Perhaps conditions there were so awful that he thought he'd die there. Perhaps he was seriously ill. We don't know.
How many of us have, at some point, despaired of life? Whether we were lying in a hospital bed, wondering if we'd ever get out, whether – like me – we were suffering such severe depression that we were planning our suicide, whether our employer's company was closing and we feared unemployment. Perhaps some of us have served in the armed forces, and feared death on a battlefield. Perhaps our finances got so low that we expected to be homeless and destitute. Perhaps we've been so lonely that we didn't want to live. You're in good company; the great apostle Paul despaired even of life.
We can reach the point where, as Paul says, we're far beyond our ability to endure. We feel like can't walk another step, no matter how many insensitive sermons we've endured on living the victorious, purpose-driven, glorious, joy-filled Christian life. At that time, we need God to carry us. Reality hits. Sometimes life is not only horrible; it's desperate. Many of us, perhaps all of us, have reached a place where we knew that if God didn't turn up soon, we were finished. At that point, we find out what our faith really amounts to. Usually, we find out we don't trust God nearly as much as we thought we did.
But here's the thing: we're still here! We're still alive, we're still coming to church, we're still seeking to live good Christian lives. We're still praising God and giving thanks to Him. Somehow, God got us through.
2 Corinthians 1v9a
Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.
It seems Paul and his friends felt that they'd been so broken by the treatment they'd received, the deprivation they'd endured, the disappointments they'd suffered, the abuse they'd learnt to expect, that they just felt they couldn't take any more. They were done. Death was all they could look forward to. "Take me now Lord, I've had enough". "Beam me up Scotty". "Stop the world, I want to get off". Maybe they believed that an actual death sentence had been pronounced against them. But Paul knew that this was all for a good purpose. He says that all his suffering and opposition
2 Corinthians 1v9b
… happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.
Can you believe that all your suffering is for a good purpose? That takes real faith, but it's true.
We rely on ourselves more than we might realize. We rely on our strength of character, our charm, our money, our intellect, our talents, our education, our friends, our stubbornness, our eloquence, whatever. Sooner or later we reach the place where our strength wears out, our money disappears, our charm doesn't work, our talents are irrelevant, our stubbornness just makes things worse, the place where the only person we can rely on is God. That moment can be very painful and very scary. But it's God-given. It's part of God's plan for us. It's the moment when we learn not only that we need to rely on God but that we can rely on God.
God is all-powerful and all-wise, and God loves us. It's often at the moment of absolute powerlessness that we actually come to believe that. Then our faith is no longer theoretical; it's real. Sometimes it's only after God has delivered us from the problems and the pain that we find we believe it. God has proved himself faithful, and He's made us people of faith.
God raises the dead. God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. The Holy Spirit, working in Peter, raised Dorcas from the dead (Acts 9v40). God delivered Paul from the sentence of death. God can do anything. He can deliver us from any circumstance. And he promised:
Hebrews 13v5
…"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Some of our prayers for health, money, extended life, freedom from physical pain or emotional pain, are answered the way we hope. Some aren't. But there's no doubt that God can do anything. There's no doubt that God loves you. And there's no doubt that God's plan for your life is perfect. You and I would have chosen a different plan. So we need not only to trust that God can help, we need to trust that God knows best. Of course He does, but this takes real faith.
Paul says:2 Corinthians 1v10-11a
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we
have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your
prayers.
God got Paul through his sufferings in Ephesus, and He continued to deliver him from all sorts of peril, trials and persecutions. He had more years of active service to God ahead of him. He reminds the Corinthians that his deliverance from his trials was "as you help us by your prayers".
Our brothers and sisters in this church and across the world are encountering trials, suffering, hardships of various kinds. Let us not underestimate how difficult each other's lives can be. Let us not dismiss them with a cheerful "I'm sure God has an answer". Let us refuse to say anything as cheap as "Well, give thanks in all circumstances". Let us help when we can. But often the only help we can offer is to pray. The Corinthians couldn't do much for Paul when he was living in Ephesus, but they could pray. And God answered their prayers. Eventually. After Paul despaired of life. After he'd learnt the lessons his trials were sent for. After God changed his perspective and his attitude.
God knows what tribulations we need to mature us to the point where we do "not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." Perhaps we need to learn that lesson several times. And God will mature us by whatever means are necessary. God allows us to suffer trials not because He doesn't love us, but because He does. That doesn't mean they're fun. And when God brings us out of any particular trial,
2 Corinthians 1v11b
Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favour granted us in
answer to the prayers of many.
Some trials are horrible. Seeing your brother or sister in great pain or grief, and feeling unable to help, is wretched. But we can pray. And God is good, and He does deliver us. And how we rejoice when God hears our prayers for our friends! Ultimately, God is the only answer. But God is good! And God is faithful!