In the Word: The God Who Raises the Dead

Welcome to Hope Mommies In the Word devotionals. Over the next several weeks, we will be meditating on 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. As we study the truths found in these verses together, we’d love you to use the comments as a place to dialogue with us about what you are learning and share your answers to the questions below. We pray that you hearts will be encouraged as you dig into God’s Word each week with us!

“Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.
But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.“
2 Corinthians 1:9
READ:

We aren’t given any description of the circumstances surrounding the affliction Paul and his friends endured during their time in Asia, but we know that they had been on the precipice of death. This was no mere difficulty; they were despairing of life itself. However, Paul recognized that God was taking him from a place of self-reliance to a place of dependence on God alone. Through this great suffering, Paul experienced increased reliance on the God who raises the dead accompanied by the profound comfort of being anchored to hope in the Lord.

When we endure suffering that is beyond our strength to bear, there is great comfort in knowing that, through our weakness and not in spite of it, God is accomplishing His redemptive purposes in our lives. When all earthly comforts fail and we come to the end of ourselves, the God who raises the dead remains. When we find our strength in the Lord instead of in ourselves, our hope is as unshakeable as its Source.

In this sin-cursed world, we will face many trials and much pain. But in the midst of this brokenness, we can choose to embrace the truth that God is doing a work in and through us that is beyond our comprehension. Our sorrows can be a beautiful testimony to the glorious redemption God is accomplishing in our lives. Dear ones, as you persevere under the agony of losing a beloved child, look to the God who raises the dead. When you are tempted to despair, remember that Christ gained victory over death itself. The grave could not keep Him. And all who are found in Him have been raised to new life forevermore.

 REFLECT:
  1. What steps can you take today to increase your reliance on the Lord in the midst of your suffering?
  2. Read Proverbs 3:5-6. What do these verses teach us about relying on God?

- Ashlee

Hope Mom to Simeon and Odelle

Ashlee is the Editorial Coordinator for Hope Mommies and author of their I AM, Identity, and Sojourn Bible studies. She and her husband, Jesse, live in Milwaukee with their children—five on earth and two in heaven.

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