“…we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired
even of life. Yes, we had the sentence
of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who
raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does
deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us…”
II Corinthians 1:8-10
There
is a suffering according to God’s will (I Peter 4:19). There may be a suffering God has called you
to that is not pleasant, but works for a good purpose in your life. Then there’s a suffering that’s not God’s
will. And there’s a suffering we all
share simply as part of the world we live in.
“In this world you will have trouble,” Jesus said (John 16:33)
Suffering
can draw us close to the heart of God.
Pressed up against the cross we find something good and sweet.
Yes,
there is deep and agonizing pain. There
is anguish of soul. There is pain that
seems to go on and on with no hope of remedy.
We may lift our heads and long for the day of His return. We may yearn for the day when this will all
be over.
The
Apostle Paul writes, “we were burdened beyond measure…we despaired even of
life.” (vs. 8)
We’ve
despaired so greatly that we prayed to die.
We’ve questioned our own ability to carry on. We’ve doubted our strength to endure. We felt like perhaps it’s better to just
throw in the towel. Build a small home
on a lake and just sit there all day and fritter life away.
In
such anguish we could do nothing but trust God.
We cast ourselves upon His mercies and uttered deep cries of the
heart. Our eyes were a fountain of
tears. Our cries were the cries of deep
soul agony. We arose from kneeling by
the sofa, walked to the bathroom, and blew gobs of snot into tissue, produced from
all the weeping.
Yet,
in our valley of despair there is a God who raises the dead. There is indeed a glorious resurrection. He delivered us. He has delivered us in the past. He will deliver us now. And, He will deliver us again.
No
matter how bad the trial you are going through, there is one who has been there
before, and He will see you through.
Some
of the translations for II Corinthians 1:8 are interesting:
“we were pressed beyond measure” (21st Century KJV)
“we were so utterly and unbearably weighed down and crushed that we despaired even of life” (Amplified)
“We were weighed down with a load of suffering that was so far beyond our strength that we were afraid we might not survive.” (Common English Bible)
“Our sufferings were so horrible and so unbearable that death seemed certain” (Contemporary English Version)
“we were excessively pressed beyond [our] power” (Darby Translation)
“We had great burdens there, which were greater than our own strength. We even gave up hope for life.” (Easy-to-Read Version)
“we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength” (ESV Anglicised)
“It was so extreme that it was beyond our ability to endure. We even wondered if we could go on living.” (GOD’S WORD Translation)
“The burdens laid upon us were so great and so heavy” (Good News Translation)
“we were completely overwhelmed” (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
“in fact we told ourselves that this was the end” (J.B. Phillips)
“we were burdened to an extraordinary degree” (Lexham English Bible)
“we were burdened excessively beyond our power to cope” (Mounce Reverse-Interlinear New Testament)
“The load was so heavy we did not have the strength to keep going. At times we did not think we could live.” (New Life Version)
“We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.” (New Living Translation)
“we were weighed down exceedingly” (ASV)
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