Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

2 Corinthians 1:3-11

We believe in God, but most of us do not know what God can do in our lives. In the crucible of testing, we move from theory to reality as we experience God’s power. When there seems to be no hope, we may share Paul’s feeling of being burdened beyond what we can endure. We also learn, as Paul did, that in our darkest times, we have to stop trusting in ourselves, and trust God. If God has allowed you to be in a desperate situation today, reconsider all that the Almighty has done and can still do. By trusting God in times of hardship, we learn what He can do in our lives.

God is the only ally we can always count on.

Our Daily Bread – January 17, 2005