TRUSTING GOD IN AFFLICTION

TRUSTING GOD IN AFFLICTION

By Rev. Samuel Arimoro

Main Text: 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

Key Verse: “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” — 2 Corinthians 1:9

Supporting Texts: Psalm 34:17-19; Isaiah 43:2; Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 4:8-9; Psalm 46:1; Nahum 1:7; 1 Peter 5:10; Romans 5:3-5

Description: Affliction may bring us to the end of our human strength, but it can also lead us into a deeper dependence on the God who delivers, sustains, and raises the dead.

INTRODUCTION

Affliction is one of the realities of the Christian journey. Following Christ does not exempt a believer from trials, pressures, disappointments, persecution, losses, or seasons when life becomes difficult to understand. Paul openly told the Corinthians that he and his companions had experienced affliction in Asia to such an extent that they were burdened beyond their own strength. His honesty teaches us that genuine faith does not deny suffering; rather, it learns to trust God in the middle of it.

There are moments when circumstances become so overwhelming that our strength, wisdom, connections, finances, experience, and human solutions appear inadequate. Paul said they “despaired even of life” and had the “sentence of death” within themselves. Yet that desperate situation produced a spiritual lesson: they learned not to trust in themselves, but in God who raises the dead.

Your affliction may be painful, but it does not mean that God has abandoned you. The God who delivered Paul is still the God who delivers His people today. When your strength fails, His strength remains; when human help is insufficient, His grace is sufficient; and when a situation appears dead, God still has resurrection power. Therefore, trust Him even in affliction.

1. AFFLICTION CAN EXCEED HUMAN STRENGTH

Paul described the intensity of his suffering by saying that they were burdened “above strength.” This reminds us that there are circumstances that human beings cannot overcome through natural ability alone.

a. Recognise Your Human Limitations (2 Corinthians 1:8)
Paul did not pretend that everything was easy. He acknowledged the severity of his situation. Recognising our limitations is not weakness; it is an opportunity to recognise God's unlimited power.

b. Do Not Depend Entirely On Yourself (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Self-reliance can become a spiritual barrier when it causes us to exclude God from our decisions. God wants us to work diligently, but He does not want us to live as though everything depends upon us.

c. God's Strength Begins Where Human Strength Ends (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Paul discovered that God's grace was sufficient in weakness. Your weakness does not cancel your destiny; it can become the platform upon which God's strength is revealed.

d. Ask God For Strength To Continue (Isaiah 40:29)
God gives power to the faint and increases strength to those who have no might. When you cannot carry yourself, God can carry you.

Biblical Example: Elijah became physically and emotionally exhausted after his confrontation with the prophets of Baal, but God strengthened him and gave him the grace to continue his journey (1 Kings 19:4-8).

2. AFFLICTION CAN TEACH US TO TRUST GOD

Paul said that the experience happened so that they would not trust in themselves but in God. Sometimes God uses difficult circumstances to move our confidence from human resources to divine sufficiency.

a. Shift Your Confidence From Yourself To God (Psalm 20:7)
Human resources are limited, but God's resources are unlimited. We should use legitimate means, but our ultimate confidence must remain in the Lord.

b. Trust God When You Cannot Understand The Situation (Proverbs 3:5)
Faith does not require complete understanding before trusting God. Sometimes you will not know why something is happening, but you can still know who holds your life.

c. Remember God's Character (Psalm 9:10)
Those who know God's name learn to trust Him because they know His character. God is faithful, merciful, righteous, and dependable even when circumstances are confusing.

d. Let Trials Deepen Your Faith (James 1:2–4)
Trials can develop perseverance and spiritual maturity. Instead of allowing affliction to drive you away from God, allow it to drive you deeper into Him.

Biblical Example: Job lost possessions, children, and health, yet he continued to acknowledge God. His trial eventually became part of a testimony of God's restoration (Job 1:20-22; 42:10-12).

3. GOD CAN DELIVER FROM THE MOST DIFFICULT AFFLICTION

Paul declared that God “delivered us from so great a death.” The severity of the situation did not exceed God's ability to intervene.

a. There Is No Situation Beyond God's Power (Jeremiah 32:27)
God asks, “Is there anything too hard for me?” The answer is no. What overwhelms you does not overwhelm God.

b. God Is Present In The Fire (Isaiah 43:2)
God does not promise that believers will never pass through fire or deep waters. He promises His presence in those situations.

c. God Can Turn Desperation Into Deliverance (Psalm 34:17)
The righteous may experience many afflictions, but the Lord delivers them out of them all. Your present affliction is not necessarily your final destination.

d. Expect Divine Intervention (Psalm 46:1)
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. When trouble comes, run to God rather than allowing fear to control you.

Biblical Example: The three Hebrew men were thrown into a fiery furnace, but God was present with them and brought them out without the smell of fire upon them (Daniel 3:24-27).

4. GOD'S PAST DELIVERANCE GIVES US CONFIDENCE FOR THE FUTURE
Paul said God had delivered them, was delivering them, and they trusted that He would continue to deliver them. Past experiences with God should strengthen present faith.

a. Remember What God Has Already Done (Psalm 77:11–12)
When present circumstances become overwhelming, remember God's previous interventions. Yesterday's testimony can strengthen today's faith.

b. Believe God For Present Deliverance (Psalm 68:19)
God daily loads us with benefits and continually carries His people. His faithfulness is not limited to the past.

c. Trust God For Future Victories (2 Timothy 4:18)
Paul had confidence that the Lord would continue to deliver him from every evil work and preserve him for His heavenly kingdom.

d. Build Your Testimony On God's Faithfulness (Psalm 40:1-3)
What God has brought you through can become a testimony that strengthens others. Your scars can become evidence that God is faithful.

Biblical Example: David repeatedly remembered how God delivered him from the lion and the bear, and that confidence prepared him to face Goliath (1 Samuel 17:34-37).

5. GOD CAN BRING LIFE OUT OF WHAT APPEARS DEAD

Paul described God as the One “which raiseth the dead.” This reveals the kind of God in whom he had placed his confidence: the God of resurrection.

a. God Specialises In Impossible Situations (Luke 1:37)
Human beings have limitations, but God's power has no limitation. What appears impossible to you remains possible with God.

b. God Can Revive Dead Dreams (Ezekiel 37:3-5)
The valley of dry bones demonstrates that God can bring life into situations that appear completely hopeless.

c. God Can Restore What Has Been Lost (Joel 2:25)
God is able to restore years that seem wasted. Your story is not finished simply because one season has been painful.

d. Never Pronounce The Final Word Before God Does (John 11:25-26)
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Therefore, a situation that appears finished can still experience divine intervention.

Biblical Example: Lazarus had been dead for four days, yet Jesus called him out of the tomb. What looked final was not final when Jesus arrived (John 11:39-44).

6. TRUST GOD EVEN WHEN THE AFFLICTION HAS NOT ENDED

Paul's testimony teaches us that faith is not merely trusting God after deliverance. It is trusting Him while waiting for deliverance.

a. Keep Praying During The Trial (Philippians 4:6-7)
Do not allow affliction to silence your prayer life. Bring your fears, burdens, questions, and needs before God.

b. Hold On To God's Word (Psalm 119:50)
The Word of God gives life and comfort in seasons of affliction. When feelings change, God's promises remain dependable.

c. Wait For God's Timing (Isaiah 40:31)
Waiting does not mean that God has forgotten you. Those who wait upon the Lord receive renewed strength.

d. Refuse To Abandon Your Faith (Hebrews 10:35-36)
Do not throw away your confidence because the answer has not yet appeared. Patience is required when you are waiting for God's promise to manifest.

Biblical Example: Abraham waited many years for the fulfilment of God's promise concerning Isaac, but God remained faithful and fulfilled His word (Genesis 21:1-2).

CONCLUSION

Affliction can make you feel helpless, but it can also teach you where your true help comes from. Paul and his companions reached a point where they could no longer rely on themselves, but that very experience redirected their confidence towards God. The Lord who raises the dead became their hope, and their past deliverance gave them confidence for present and future challenges.

Therefore, do not allow your affliction to destroy your faith. Trust God when the burden is heavy, trust Him when the answer is delayed, trust Him when human strength fails, and trust Him when the situation appears dead. The God who delivered you before is still at work today, and He is able to deliver you again. Your affliction is not the end of your story; God's faithfulness will have the final word.

PRAYER POINTS

1. Father, give me grace to trust You completely when I face difficult and painful circumstances, in Jesus name.

2. Lord, deliver me from every form of self-reliance that prevents me from depending fully upon You, in Jesus name.

3. Father, strengthen me whenever my human strength fails and uphold me by Your mighty hand, in Jesus name.

4. Lord, deliver me from every affliction that has become greater than my ability to handle, in Jesus name.

5. Father, turn every impossible situation in my life into a testimony of Your supernatural power, in Jesus name.

6. Lord, let every dead situation in my life receive resurrection power and come back to life, in Jesus name.

7. Father, help me to remember Your past faithfulness and let every previous testimony strengthen my present faith, in Jesus name.

8. Lord, give me patience to wait for Your appointed time without losing faith or becoming discouraged, in Jesus name.

9. Father, let Your presence sustain me through every fire, storm, battle, and season of affliction, in Jesus name.

10. Lord, bring me out of every present affliction and turn my tears, trials, and troubles into a lasting testimony, in Jesus name.

PROPHETIC DECLARATIONS

1. You shall not be destroyed by the affliction you are passing through; the grace of God shall sustain you until your season of deliverance comes.

2. You shall receive divine strength where your human strength has failed, and you shall not collapse under the weight of your present circumstances.

3. Every situation that has become too difficult for you shall encounter the intervention of the Almighty God.

4. You shall experience the God who raises the dead bringing life, restoration, hope, and possibilities into every seemingly dead area of your life.

5. The God who delivered you in previous seasons shall arise again and deliver you from every present affliction.

6. You shall not die in the middle of your battle; you shall live to testify of the goodness and faithfulness of God.

7. Every power turning your present affliction into permanent oppression shall be broken, and you shall enter into your season of freedom.

8. Your faith shall not fail because of delayed answers; you shall receive grace to wait until God's appointed time.

9. The Lord shall turn your present pain into a testimony, your tears into joy, and your trials into evidence of His faithfulness.

10. You shall come out of this season stronger, wiser, deeper in faith, and with a testimony that will glorify the name of the Lord.