Verse By Verse Devotional On 2 Corinthians By Pastor Jack #11

Apostolic Suicide?

1:8-9 "...we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves..."

There are times when life gets so grim that one begins to wonder whether it wouldn’t be easier just to end it all. There are times when a man feels such an intense sense of despair that he is tempted to give up on life altogether.

Is that what’s going on here? Is this giant-among-Christians telling us that at one point even he was plunged into this kind of despair?

Paul has been talking about receiving comfort from God in the midst of affliction. Here in v.8-9 he begins to describe the specific affliction he has just experienced and in which he received divine comfort.

We know little that is certain about the circumstances which evoked Paul’s striking testimony here. Likely the incident being referred to here is the one recorded in Acts 19:23-41, having to do with a silversmith named Demetrius who stirred up trouble for Paul because the effect of Paul’s message was beginning to take a bite out of his idol-making profits, though that passage conveys little of the intensity reflected in Paul’s language here.

What is very clear here is that Paul was not suicidal. His language here does not mean that he was on the verge of giving up on life altogether. Rather, it means that he was in such peril that he sincerely thought he was going to die. He thought he was a goner.

Later, in 2Cor.4:8, Paul explicitly says that in spite of all the pressures and disappointments he did not give in to despair (in the sense of losing hope or giving up). (The Greek word for despair is identical in the two passages.)

Sometimes life looks very grim. Many things in this life pull us down. But for those who love God there is never reason for despair. Our God has all things in His hands and has promised to work them out for our good. Whether we feel it or not, Jesus has promised to be with us to the very end (Matt.28:20), and never to forsake us or abandon us (Heb.13:5). God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).

He has set such a glorious hope before us that those who have the ability to see clearly realize that to die is gain (Phil.1:21).

Dear Father, thank You that in Jesus Christ there is ample reason for hope. Please help us to base our lives not on what we see around us, but upon what You tell us in Your word. Restore to us the joy of our salvation. Help us to repudiate self-pity and walk before You in the refreshment of repentance and in the faith that lifts our heads. Help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith.