One thing our family has been facing this past year is some health issues I am experiencing. I won’t go into detail because that isn’t the point, but the bottom line is that this undiagnosed stream of problems is a daily battle that has affected our lives in many ways.
Recently I was meeting with a client I do some part-time work for who is a believer. He shared with me something he had been reading in 2 Corinthians 1:
8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a] 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. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on Godwho 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. 11 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.
This passage resonates so deeply with me. Many days I am physically burdened beyond my strength. This passage is teaching me 5 things about affliction – be it physical struggle, daily challenges of raising kids, hurts and disappointments, financial instability, or persecution for the faith.
Affliction reminds us that our strength is not sufficient.
We were never meant to be sufficient. Our culture worships independence and self-sufficiency, but God’s very design before the Fall was for us to be dependent creatures – on Him and on one another.
Affliction reminds us of this reality. Our deluded selves applaud our strength and independence. But really, we have nothing to claim for ourselves. We are frail and weak creatures. Affliction reminds us that our strength will never be sufficient, no matter how strong, healthy, successful, organized, or uninhibited we are.
Therefore, affliction produces in us humility.
Affliction points us to rely on the God who raises the dead.
It is so key here that Paul doesn’t just say “on God”. There’s a key descriptor there, “who raises the dead.” When we are confronted with our insufficiency, we are also confronted with the immeasurable power of the God who raised Christ from the dead, raises our sinful selves from the dead as new creations, and will one day raise our bodies from the dead for eternity.
What greater courage could we ever be given than to know that the same God who raises the dead is working for the good of those who love Him, even when it doesn’t feel like it? That the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells within His children, ready to strengthen us for whatever God has called us to do?
This knowledge doesn’t make my struggles any easier. But it gives me courage to fight through them with His power and strength.
Therefore, affliction produces in us courage.
Affliction increases our hope in God’s deliverance.
The difference between affliction leading to despair and affliction leading to joy is this: on what have we set our hope?
Paul says that though they had come to the point of despairing in life, the reminder of God’s prior deliverance gave them greater hope of God’s future and continued deliverance. In his moment of despair, his response was to set his hope on God, and despair did not prevail.
Often, in the face of affliction, we allow Satan to convince us that God has abandoned us and hope is gone. The truth is, hope exists in the space between what reality is now and what we believe God is able to do. The greater that chasm, the greater the hope.
Think about it. Which storyline produces a greater sense of hope in you: the one in which the St. Louis Cardinals, who have been to the World Series countless times, get to the World Series again? Or the one in which the Kansas City Royals, who haven’t been to the World Series in 29 years, get to it again?
The more times we see God demonstrate what He is able to do, the quicker our response will be hope instead of despair. We can always call to mind what God has already done on the Cross: defeat our sin and rise from the dead to give us new life.
Therefore, affliction produces in us hope.
Affliction calls the faith community to pray and come together.
Paul goes on to ask the Corinthians to help them by praying. Not because God wouldn’t work without their prayer, but because prayer is a means by which we express our dependence on God and come together as the body of Christ.
The natural response of seeing our insufficiency and turning to rely on God is prayer. And the right response of a Christian community when one of theirs is in need is to unite together to pray, support those in need, and meet needs if it is within their ability.
Therefore, affliction produces in us unity.
Affliction displays God’s glory.
Perhaps the most beautiful part of affliction is that God’s glory gets put on full display, not just to the afflicted one but to Christian community and the unbelieving world.
When a person experiencing deep struggle does not give way to despair but hopes in God, God’s goodness is the only explanation, and gratitude is the only response.
When a community rallies together to support someone in need, devoting themselves to prayer with a unity that spans geography, race, and culture, God’s grace is the only explanation, and humility is the only response.
When God’s blessing is experienced even in the midst of that affliction, God’s greatness is the only explanation, and praise is the only response.
It is mystifying to the world when people who have no earthly reason for hope and joy are filled with those things, when they take the time to pray for and care for others’ needs above their own, and when people experience blessing through or in the midst of affliction. That’s because God’s glory is on full display, and it is incomprehensible.
Therefore, affliction produces in us worship.
A Purpose Beyond Ourselves
I wrote in the margin of my Bible “affliction always serves a purpose beyond ourselves.” All the things listed above do not just happen in the life of the one experiencing the affliction. They happen in the lives of the Body and the surrounding world, too.
As long as I think my affliction, whatever it is, is about me, the despair pit will be much easier to jump into.
But when I remember that affliction serves the glory of God, the good of the sanctification not only of me but of the Body, and the exaltation of His name to the world, then I can lift my eyes to the hope of the God who raises the dead.
Whatever burdens you today beyond your strength, set your hope on Him who raises the dead. Call out to the Body for prayer and support. Praise Him for His blessings. And do not despair…He is with you!
Life as a Hamm 