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”(2 Corinthians 1:8-10).
Have you ever done a job so long or participated in a sport until you became quite good at it? After having walked with the Lord for a period of time, we can fall into an attitude of, “I Can Do It.” In the following paragraphs, we will take a look at how the Lord deals with this.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he addresses what could possibly be this attitude. He writes, “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. 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”(2 Corinthians 1:8-10).
These scriptures remind me of why we go through trials and tribulations. We must be made aware that our trust should always be in God and not us. Paul says, “we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia” (2 Corinthians 1:8). The great lesson for the brethren was that the Lord allowed difficulties so great and beyond their abilities to rescue themselves that their only source and hope were in the Lord. The Lord caused the sentence of death to be pronounced in them that they might learn not to trust in themselves but in God who raises the dead. The Lord is the only one who can raise the dead! It is He who delivered them from death, and He alone is the One who is able to rescue us from our present trials and deaths.
Our death-like situations will always have the upper hand in our lives until we die to them. The sentence of death in us causes us to look to the One who raises the dead. When God raises us out of our death-like situations, He gives us victory over a formidable enemy, which causes us never again to fear him!
Raising the believer out of these situations gives him not only victory, but deliverance from their power. The act of deliverance rescues and releases us from the hold situations have had over us. Paul says that all of this is to bolster our trust in God who is our Salvation. Our past deliverances are to give us confidence in the Lord that, if needed, there will also be future deliverances.