In review of 2 Corinthians 1:9-10 it says, “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us … and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.”
Bottom Line:
We need to stop relying on ourselves and instead put our trust in God. He has delivered us in the past and will do so again. Therefore we place our confidence in him.
What this means to me:
I have faced certain situations that seem detrimental and out of my control, however these took place so that I would stop relying on myself, and instead put my full trust in God. God has delivered me in the past and will deliver me again if it is his choice. Therefore I am learning to place my confidence in him. Confidence that he will continue to rescue me in my time of need.
In whatever situation I find myself in right now, I need to ask “what am I expecting God to do?” Am I expecting him to do anything? What I’m learning is that God works in my life according to my expectations. That’s part of the definition of faith.
Paul knew this. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1:9-10, “This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us … and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us” (NIV).
The purpose of a dead-end is to teach me to trust in God. So why does God let things get so bad and so out of control? It is so that he can make me realize that I need to learn to trust in him instead of trusting in my own ingenuity and cleverness.
The promise when I trust God is that he has delivered, will deliver, and he will continue to deliver me. When God delivers me in this last phase, he’ll use three different kinds of deliverance:
God uses circumstantial deliverance. Sometimes God miraculously alters the circumstance, and the Red Sea splits. That will happen many times in your life, but it’s not going to happen all the time.
God uses personal deliverance. Instead of changing the circumstance, God changes you from the inside. I’ll get a new dream, a new vision, a new attitude, and a new perspective.
God’s ultimate deliverance is Heaven. God has not promised to remove all of my pain in this world or solve every one of my problems. Because we are on Earth, there is pain and sorrow and suffering. The ultimate deliverance will be one day in Heaven where there will be no pain, no sorrow, no suffering, and no heartache.
There is only one way to get to Heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). When you’re at a dead-end, Jesus can take that hopeless end and turn it into an endless hope.
The purpose of a dead-end is to teach me to trust in God. Whenever I face a dead-end, I need to remember to take that problem, that situation, and my own life and give them to Jesus Christ. I need to remember to stop relying on myself, resources and ingenuity and put my trust in God. He has delivered me in the past and will do so again. God will work in my life according to my expectations. I should place my confidence in him.
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