8-11 We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us. As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did it, rescued us from certain doom. And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your prayers played such a crucial part. (2 Corinthians 1:8-11, The Message)
Have you ever had one of those days when you were just ready to curl up and die? Some of the greats in the Bible had days like that! Moses at one point told God that if God did not go with them then he best just kill Moses cause Moses could not go one step further without God. Job when faced with the news of the death of his children and loss of his wealth, bemoans the day he was born. He wails that he should never have been born. The prophet Jonah sits on a hill to watch Nineveh be cursed and God let a vine grow. A worm eats the vine and Jonah loses his shade. He moans that he wants to die if God is not going to curse the Ninevites. The great apostle Paul had a day like that. He felt abandoned and sent to death row. He thought it was over. For many trudging through the valley of despair, suicide seems like the only option.
At church yesterday a man shared that he was wanting to die as his business was failing, his marriage was struggling, and he had no money for Christmas presents for his kids. His final resort was to turn to prayer. The next day he left church and his car was full of wrapped presents for his kids. He got home and there was another stack of presents. Paul says here that when we come to the end of ourselves, we are forced to turn to God and trust him. Not all our stories end happy ever after nor have the endings we expected but we can be sure that God is watching, waiting, listening and ready to answer as he knows is best. I’m facing another hurricane in Florida in 10 days. Lord, have mercy on all who are struggling at the end of their rope. We look to you!
On the Way to Wonder 