8 We want you to know, Christian brothers, of the trouble we had in the countries of Asia. The load was so heavy that we did not have the strength to keep going. At times, we did not think we could live. 9 We thought we would die. This happened so we would not put our trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.
I was a Boy Scout for a couple of years back in the day. I can remember the first time we went rappelling off a cliff. From the ground, looking up, the cliff did not seem very high, but from the top of the cliff, looking over, it felt like I was on top of the Empire State Building looking down. I was strapped into my gear, with my rope and harness already in place. Leaning a little toward the cliff, I was supposed to make the rope taut and then rappel off the cliff. Easy to say, harder to actually do. I was terrified, to be honest. I had all the dads supporting me and the boys who had already rappelled, cheering me on. It was time to let the rope take all my weight and let gravity do its job. I leaned over, loosened my grip on the rope, and off the cliff I went.
When I read the first part of our verse today, it sounds like Paul and his traveling missionary band were not having a summer camp experience on the mission trail. In fact, it sounds downright terrifying. It first speaks of “trouble” and then goes into some detail, describing the fact that they thought they could not even keep going. Skipping over the details, Paul then says that they thought they would even die.
If we stop here, we don’t get the lesson. Sadly, most of us are eager to move down the road of following Christ, and when the road gets a little rocky, we tend to stop. You may not have run into someone wanting to hurt you physically, but I am sure you have had a bad experience. You felt like you needed to tell this person about Jesus, and they just unloaded on you. Or the day you accepted Christ, you were grateful and full of joy, only to have the next month be the worst days you have experienced in a long time. We could name a bunch of scenarios, but the end result is a pause in following Christ. Your brain starts to analyze the situation, and all the happenings seem to have befallen you after you said yes to following Christ, or yes to the mission trip for church, or yes to the leadership position in a small group. Then, to top it all off, you read verse 8 above and stop.
I have been there, believe me. I have been at the verse 8 scenario and felt like stopping. I even did sometimes, to tell you the truth. I was at the point of believing in Christ in the middle of the craziness and chose to anchor myself in my own understanding. I stopped, pulled back, and said, “If this is what it takes, I am out.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” For me, I have had the benefit of being in the middle of the crazy and trusting the Lord, putting Proverbs 3:5–6 to the test. The Lord has always come through. Paul goes on to write in verse 9 above, “We thought we would die. This happened so we would not put our trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.” Paul got it. He passed Go and got to collect $200. He chose to lean in on the Lord for everything, even when his own life was at stake.
Today, you might not be in the middle of a life-or-death situation, but you do have a choice when faced with hard situations. Do I trust the Lord or my own understanding? Paul and all his traveling missionary band chose to trust in the Lord, and we can read about all that Paul did after that happened. Only the Lord knows what you will be able to accomplish by trusting in Him during your hard times. Only He knows how many lives will be touched by your testimony during those hard times. Make a choice today to stand with the Lord in all you do, even in the hard times when things are not so happy. You might just be writing a story much like Paul was. “This happened so we (your name) would not put our trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead.”
When I finally chose to loosen my grip on the rope and begin to rappel down, the rope did its job. Let go and let God today in everything you do.
Prayer: Father, help me to find trust in You when I cannot seem to think straight. Help me to rely on Your promises and not my own understanding. Give me strength to endure the hard times and peace in the middle of the valley. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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