Help #4 — Hope-giving Help

We were so afflicted in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. … He on whom we have set our hope will deliver us. 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

We won’t go to be with Jesus until the time is right. When our time on earth is through, the promise of Jesus will come true: “those who believe in me shall not see death.” Until then we may often be close to dying, or we may be in such desperate straits that we hold no hope for finding our way out. But we can be certain he will deliver us from every situation because our God “raises the dead.” If Jesus died at the right time to rescue us from the wrath of God, certainly God knows how to rescue us from less dire circumstances as well. According to Paul, the Lord uses these less drastic, but more imminently distressing situations as part of the way he delivers us from sin. For when we are clearly unable to extricate ourselves from physical danger, we more consciously entrust our lives to him immediately and for eternity. God means the experience of deliverance, to persuade us to trust him whenever trials come.

Eternal God, as I rest in your power to rescue me from death forever, keep me trusting in you for deliverance from all the dangers I encounter along the way to glory. Amen.