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FROM DESPAIR TO DELIVERANCE

November 14, 2025

For 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; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who 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. 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

1. YOU CAN BE IN GOD’S WILL AND STILL FACE BATTLES. Paul opens his letter to the church in Corinth by being candid about what he’s been through. He was in the center of God’s will – yet he was facing intense pressure. He said they were “burdened excessively, beyond our strength.” Other translations say, “we were weighed down exceedingly beyond our power” (ASV), “exceedingly depressed” (Weymouth) “Completely overwhelmed” (Phillips), and “crushed far beyond what I could stand” (Moffatt). Even when you are walking in obedience, you may still encounter battles – but that’s not the end of the story.

2. SELF-HELP IS NOT SUFFICIENT. Paul wrote, “We had the sentence of death within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” Human effort is not enough. True help and strength come from God: “My help comes from the Lord” (Psalm 121:2). As Paul followed God’s call to Asia (modern-day Turkey and Greece), he echoed what David said about afflictions in Psalms, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but THE LORD delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19).

3. GOD DELIVERS – PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. Paul declares that God “delivered,” “delivers,” and “will deliver.” God is not the one tempting or causing the trial (James 1:13). He is the one who rescues – He has delivered you before, He is working now, and He will continue to do so. James wrote, “Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (James 1:2-3). Even Jesus faced temptation in His humanity, laying aside His divine privileges, so that we can walk in victory and breakthrough through Him.

DEFINITION: de·liv·er, verb

To set free, as from captivity, peril, or evil: deliver a captive from slavery.

Press on, 
Pastor Jeff Perry

Copyright © 2025 St. Louis Family Church, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. “Deliver, V.” American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, HarperCollins Publishers, 2022,  https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=deliver. Scripture quotations marked (Weymouth) are taken from The Weymouth New Testament (5th Edition, 1929) – The New Testament in Modern Speech: An Idiomatic Translation into Everyday English from the Text of the Resultant Greek Testament, by Richard Francis Weymouth, revised by James Alexander Robertson. Public domain.  Scripture quotations marked (ASV) are taken from the American Standard Version, are taking from the (from The Bible from 26 Translations), copyright © 1988 by Mathis Publishers. All rights reserved.  Scripture quotations marked (PHILLIPS) are taken from The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips, copyright © 1960, 1972 by J. B. Phillips. Administered by the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (Moffatt) are from The Bible: A New Translation by James Moffatt. Originally published in 1935. Public domain.