Gospel-Centered Suffering: On Being Raised Out of a Pit
Note from Bob: You’re reading Part Six of a Changing Lives blog mini-series on Gospel-Centered Self-Counsel for Suffering. Read Part One. Read Part Two. Read Part Three. Read Part Four. Read Part 5.
Our Resurrection and Christ’s Resurrection
We falsely think of the resurrection as only being about Christ. Or, we falsely think of the resurrection as only mattering after our final physical death. But in 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul says, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
And in 2 Corinthians 1:9, Paul states that the resurrection has daily, moment-by-moment, continuous application to our lives—in our suffering now we look to the God who continuously raises the dead.
We die daily—we suffer daily casket experiences—the loss of a job, criticism from a friend, a heated disagreement with a spouse, cruel words from a child, illness, foreclosure on our home…the list is endless. But for every single daily death experience, Christ promises daily resurrection experiences. He supernaturally resurrects our hope—continually.
Our Shrinking Thinking and Our Temptation
Why do we find God’s daily deliverance so hard to believe? Because when life stinks, our perspective shrinks. Our vision narrows. We look only at the earthly story of despair. And Satan is only too happy to contribute to our shrunken world. Satan tries to crop Christ out of the picture.
Christ is resurrected, but we aren’t looking at life with spiritual eyes. Satan then goes one step further, and tries to erase Christ from the picture entirely. The Holy Spirit enters and refocuses our vision so we can see and experience Christ’s daily deliverance at work in our lives.
Our Pit and Our Deliverer
That’s exactly Paul’s experience in 2 Corinthians 1:10. “He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.”
Paul says, “God delivered me in the past. He will deliver me from my current suffering. And I am confident that he will still deliver me through all that lies ahead—because He is God-the-continuous-Raiser-of-the-dead! God-the-continuous-Deliverer-from-the-pit-of-despair.”
To “deliver” means to raise out of a pit. As Paul puts quill to scroll, he was very possibly meditating on Psalm 40:2-3. “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”
Our Future Resurrection and Our Daily Resurrection
This is the gospel-centered theme of the entire Epistle. Assailed inside and out, Paul survives not by self, but by God. Compare 2 Corinthians 4:7-9.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed.”
Our future resurrection has present implications. It happens everyday! Whenever God raises us up again when we despair of life, He shows nothing other than His resurrection power. It is all implied in one phrase: God-the-continuous-raiser-of-the-Dead!
The Rest of the Story
Join us for Part Seven when we learn about Jointly Supporting One Another in Suffering.
Join the Conversation
Am I trusting in the God-who-continually-raises-the-dead?
Do I cling to Christ to experience mini-resurrections every day from my mini-casket experiences?
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