⁸For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; ⁹indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; ¹⁰who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, ¹¹you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.

The most autobiographical of all Paul’s writings, this second letter to the Corinthians reveals what the apostle went through in serving the Lord and His people. He shares it with the Corinthians not to puff himself up but to use himself and his co-workers as examples, the way a father uses himself as an example to his children. This section of his letter is only the beginning (see 2 Cor. 7:5–9, 11:12–19). He describes his experience with phrases like “burdened excessively,” “beyond our strength,” “despaired even of life,” “sentence of death.” He refers to his time in Asia, ostensibly during his first missionary tour and the first part of his second tour before God directed him to Macedonia and Greece.

We know from the book of Acts that at least once he was stoned and left for dead, after which he was supernaturally revived and went back to preaching the gospel (Acts 14:19–20).  Some scholars believe this is what Paul references in 2 Corinthians 12:12—that he actually died, but like Lazarus was raised again. He could be hinting at this when he confidently says he has learned to “not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” This is a faith similar to Abraham’s, who when he was willing to obey God’s directive to offer up his son Isaac, “considered that God is able to raise peopleeven from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type” (Heb. 11:19). He knew God would deliver him—if not here, then through the resurrection.

Notice the repetition of the word “deliver,” a common biblical antidote to the believer’s trials. Paul speaks of deliverance from the stinging claws of physical death (1 Cor. 15:54–57). This deliverance is past, that is, he has already experienced a measure of deliverance. But that past experience gives him hope for the future, that God “will deliver us” and “He will yet deliver us.”

No matter how bad our circumstances, God will ultimately deliver us when we die and are raised to new life. In the end we win over the temptation to give in to a self-absorbed life focused on ourselves and our comfort, so that we are helped to endure in our serving God and others in and through our suffering.

Lord, help me endure, even if my difficulties mean facing death.