DIFFICULTIES, TRIALS & SUFFERING 

Believers are not exempt from trials, afflictions or suffering. There are a number of things however that Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians Chapter 1 about them which should help us through them: 

1. God Permits Trials to Come 

Everything for the believer in Christ is by Divine appointment. Troubles are never happenstance, or a product of fate. If this was the case then our only recourse would be to give up as our case would be hopeless. If God is in control however, and we trust in Him, then we can overcome these trials with His help. God encourages us in the bible by teaching us that it is He who permits trials in our lives. 

2. He is in Control of Trials 

In this instance, we do not know what specific trial Paul was suffering, but we do know that it was serious enough for Paul to think that he was going to die. We also know that God controlled the circumstances and protected him. Paul may have despaired for his life, but God did not despair of Paul. 

3. God Enables us to Bare our Trials 

You would have thought that someone with Paul’s experience would have been able to cope with whatever came his way, but that is not God’s way. We have to acknowledge our weakness so that we fully place our trust in God. Later in this letter Paul says “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10) God will always give us strength to bear the burden of our trials. 

4. God Delivers us from our Trials

God’s deliverance is not always immediate, or the same for every believer. His deliverance was in response to Paul’s faith and the prayers of the believers at Corinth. It is important that we learn about believers’ difficulties, not so that we just talk about it with our friends, but so that we pray intelligently for them, asking God for deliverance for them from their particular trial. 

5. God is Glorified through our Trials 

When Paul reported what God had done for him, praise and thanksgiving went up to the throne of God. It is indeed a high service to glorify God; sometimes that will involve suffering. God works out His purposes in the trials and suffering of life if we are obedient to His commands. Difficulties can increase our faith, strengthen our prayer life, draw us closer to other Christians as they share their burdens with us. 

Trials can be used to glorify God, so when we find ourselves suffering through difficulties and trials, we should always remember what God is to us, what he does for us, and bear in mind the things that Paul reminds us of in this chapter of God’s word. .