He on whom we have set our hope.

“We were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; ⁹ indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; ¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, ¹¹ you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. (1 Corinthians 1:8b-11) 

Death is not only a physical experience.  There are times in our lives when we experience the Death of hope, dreams, ways of life.  There are times in our lives when physical death would seem easier that continuing to live and endure what we are going through.  I have been at a point in my life where I was crying out to God to just let me “come home and be with Him.” He didn’t answer that prayer, but he delivered me from all that was causing me to despair instead. The above verse reveals that we can be burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despair even of life.  We are just so bone tired and soul weary from all that is going on, in and around us, that we just want to lay down and die.  But we are told here in this passage of Scripture that sometimes we have that” sentence of death within ourselves,” so that we will learn to not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.  Death in any of its forms is a terrible, awful, and excruciatingly painful ordeal.  We are called from Death unto life by God Himself.  This God who raises the dead, who heals the broken hearted, who binds up all our wounds; this Same God is with us and has the power over all the deaths we experience.

Sometimes God calls us to lay down parts of our lives that we have clung to, relied upon, hoped in.   This is a kind of death, a dying to ourselves, can be especially difficult, for we must cease to trust ourselves and our own persectives on things.  God has laid the finger on at least two such areas right now in my life.  I have experienced so much failure and defeat in those areas that I have despaired of hope in ever being fully victorious and free in them.  Let’s make that three areas, God just reminded me as I was writing this, that there is one more He is calling up and calling me to die to.

Is God working in Your life and calling you forth to die to certain things in your life?  If so, would you prayerfully consider laying those things down at His feet, and pray for me as I lay these down once again.  The Scripture above hails our Mantra of victory,   so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; ¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, ¹¹ you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”  

Will you please pray for me as I face these difficult areas again, as I seek to lay before Him these areas of death, to which He has called me.  And I will pray for you as well, without even needing to know what your areas are, I can pray, for God is faithful, and He knows the end from the beginning.  Let us Come to our all powerful, all loving, all gracious God; He on whom we have set our hope, and pray for one another   Let us lay these burdens down and trust Him.  O Yes, Let us lay these burdens down, and leave them at the feet of the only One who has the power to do anything about them.  Lay them down with me, dear friend.  Wow, now He has just asked me to lay a fourth thing down.  God is really working on me this morning, dear friends.  Pray for me, as I seek to do so.

In Christ’s  love for  you all,

carole