Tom writes:

Our ears are full of hyperbole. There is so much overstatement in our opinion-soaked world that Paul’s mention of despair could slip us by. It should not. Paul was a self-confessed under-stater. He didn’t play with words just to make an impact. His yes was yes and his no was no. And so when Paul tells us that he suffered beyond his ability to endure, you know that he suffered. Oh boy he must have suffered. This must have been an extended, exhausting episode of bone-grinding agony. Paul - who had escaped a crazed mob’s death sentence a couple of times - tells the Corinthians that he felt the sentence of death. We don’t know exactly what happened to Paul and we don’t need to know. Paul gives us enough to realise that this great apostle became so weak-kneed, gaunt-faced and hollow-stomached that he called out to his mummy for help and then he kept on wailing. Alright, he called out to God for help, but the reality of Paul’s pit of despair should change forever our understanding of our faith. Episodes of extreme pain do not mean that God is failing or that we have failed. These “dark nights” can be times of profound transformation if we respond to them as Paul did.

So what did he do? Well I hesitate to answer that straight away because it might sound like God gives instant relief if we do the right things. And that is obviously not the truth. But what we do find Paul doing is setting his hope on God, who raises the dead. “Setting” his hope doesn’t feel like a particularly helpful translation. Fighting to keep his hope in God seems better to me because remembering and remaining in hope was not an emotionally straightforward exercise. And fighting is also a helpful word because we can see it was a group fight. The prayers of many helped hold Paul together until God’s comfort arrived. Paul did not suffer and “set his hope” on his own. He involved others. Do you involve others when you feel low? Our faith must make space for admission of weakness and pain and begging others for help. Not to do that is not biblical faith. And we also end this chapter realising that our faith must make space for others to express utter agony to us. Let’s try to be people who are easy to speak to, who are OK with people not being fixed straight away but who, at the same time, pray faith-filled prayers for their deliverance to come.

Question for reflection

There can be long and horrible gaps between our prayers for help and God’s deliverance arriving. How can we help people who are trapped in one of those times?

2 Corinthians 1 - Friday 7th June