So utterly burdened beyond our strength
Have you ever been completely weighed down that you knew you couldn’t get yourself out of it? We’re looking at 2 Corinthians 1:8 among other gems in the Bible today. So, join us, as we break it down, read the context, and see how the beauty of God’s Word changes our lives.
Having an Evergreen Relationship with God is a time for women and teen girls to seek the one thing that can’t be taken away from us—God’s Words—and to let it light our path, so we can be with God all the days of our lives and purposefully live our lives for him.
2 Corinthians 1:8 says, “…we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength… It’s a phrase most of us have said at some point in our lives, if not several times. That time may even be now. It’s something that’s hard to explain. Something that is all-consuming and nothing will alleviate it. It’s suffocating to the point of complete despair. As we are enveloped in our pain, we are unable to see past it. God sees the other side of it. But he isn’t only waiting for us there, on the other side. He crosses into our pain and holds us. He patiently carries us as we cry and then gently reminds us that he is God. If we focus on our burden and count on our strength, we will always be in despair, to the point of despairing of life itself (as it continues to say in our verse of 2 Corinthians). But if we drag our eyes away from the darkness and instead look into the ever-constant and ever-loving eyes of God, our hearts will flicker with life. We will know that holding on to him and listening to his plan for what’s going on in our lives will help us see past the darkness. And relying on him, that pain will pale in comparison with who he is and what he can do. Because he has already done it!
So let’s break it down:
So utterly burdened beyond our strength. We can almost feel the weight in that sentence. There are so many things in each of our lives that can burden us. Things that sometimes literally brings us to our knees. It completely disrupts our lives and puts a seemingly-immovable brick on our hearts. Moreover, here is says that they were so utterly burdened. As if to say this was a burden that was maxed out. It was completely wrecking them.
Being utterly burdened isn’t specific to this time in the world. Life in the world of unfairness and sin hasn’t changed. It was the same for Paul and those then and before that stretching back to the centuries.
There are so many different kinds of burdens, but Mark 5 gives us a bit of a look into how Jesus took care of three people. Some that came to him, some that didn’t. Some whose pain was for a while and some whose pain might’ve been more sudden. Some who were Jews, and some who weren’t. It didn’t matter where they came from or where they were at in their struggle, Jesus was there.
The first is a man whose burden was literally evil—thousands of demons. This demon-possessed man who lived among the Gentiles. He had no clothes, no sanity, no sleep. He lived among the dead, was constantly crying and cutting himself, and was stronger than anyone around (only due to the evil inside of him).
When he saw Jesus, he came to him, but not of sound mind to ask for his help. Instead the demons threw him in front of Jesus to plead for their wellbeing, asking Jesus not to torment them. When Jesus asked the man his name, the answer “we are many.”
He was utterly burdened, but Jesus was there. Jesus gave the legion of demons permission to enter animals instead. And when we see the man again, he is sitting, clothed, and in his right mind.
The next person in Mark 5 is on the other side of the sea, when crowds had gathered to see Jesus and in the crowd was a woman, a woman who had heard reports about Jesus.
Her burden was another that was so utterly heavy—suffering from sickness. She had been bleeding for twelve years—twelve years!—but more than that, she was losing hope. Not only could the physicians not help her, she was suffering despite it all and grew worse. Not only was she getting worse, she had spent everything she had to relieve her burden.
She was utterly burdened, but Jesus was there. From the crowd, she came behind Jesus with the faith that if she just touched his cloak, she would be well.
So she touched his cloak. And she immediately she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
The last person in Mark 5 had a burden that didn’t touch him directly but was just as heavy, for it touched someone he loved, someone who was under his care. His burden was the sickness and death of his child.
Before the woman had gotten to Jesus in the crowd, the ruler of the synagogue, Jairus, had already seen him and fallen at his feet. He told Jesus how his little daughter was to the point of death and just wanted Jesus to lay his hands on her so she might live.
And though Jesus went with him, after being delayed when Jesus had stopped to help the now-healed woman, Jairus was told that he was too late. His daughter was dead. His hope was gone and fear took its place.
He was utterly burdened, but Jesus was there. Jesus, overhearing the news of the death of the daughter simply said, “Do not fear, only believe.”
And moving past the distractions of the crowds, past the wailers, and even without all twelve disciples, Jesus entered the home of Jairus. With Jairus and his wife present, Jesus took the hand of their little girl, now dead, and said, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And she did.
Each of these accounts are beautiful and hopeful. And looking from the outside, it may seem that the purpose was that ‘all will end well’ when we trust God. And it does. But our definition of ‘all ending well’ is only from our perspective of our enveloped pain. From there, we can’t see past the borders of our frustrations, pain, and grief. But God can. He can look past that moment and see our entire lives. And not only ours, but everyone else around us whom he loves and then he can see into eternity.
So when we are utterly burdened and our burden isn’t lifted, that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care. It doesn’t mean he stays away from us and it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a good future for us. It just may not be good the way we see it.
The best example of that is through someone who was so utterly burdened. This one was also one of unfairness and because of the sin of this world. But none of it was his own.
“And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Luke 22:41-46)
Jesus more than anyone knows the meaning of being utterly burdened. He literally had the whole world’s sin on him. He knew the course set before him and he knew it was going to be painful. And he still asked for it to be taken away. It was beyond his strength. But God strengthened him and Jesus was able to get up and even guide his disciples before he was led to his betrayal and death.
In the end, he left it to God. He knew that past the pain, there was a much bigger perspective. He knew that if it weren’t for this heavy burden, we as humankind could never know God the Father as a Father. We would always be separated from him because of our sin.
And so to Jesus, the pain was worth it. Because it glorified God and it brought others closer to Him. The purpose was eternal even though the temporary pain was real.
So that was breaking it down. Now let’s look at the context:
Verse 1-2 are the introduction to the letter to the Corinthians, so we’ll start in verse 3-5.
Verse 3-5 say, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”
God is known for many things. Mighty, holy, fearful, loving, compassionate, patient. But one we don’t hear as much is comfort. He is the Father of mercies, a God who redeems us himself, and furthermore the God of all comfort, who comforts us himself.
This isn’t something new. God has always been the God of all comfort. In Psalm 119, it says of God, “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life…. When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord…. Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.” (Psalm 119:50,52,76)
Verse 6-7: “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.”
Sometimes God is using these burdens for others’ comfort and salvation. This was probably the most clearly seen through the prophets. They had many burdens that God used for the good of his people, some that seem mind-blowing.
One of which is Hosea, the prophet that took a prostitute for a wife as God asked, even as she left Hosea. Chapter 3 of Hosea is the beautiful way God used what Hosea might’ve seen as a heavy burden for God’s glory. Through Hosea’s example, we’re able to get a glimpse of the love God has for us. That he risked his love on us, some of us who have taken him up on it and others who haven’t and never will. That he is willing to continually seek us out. That he is committed to us, always faithful, and that if we do the same, we are in the strongest and most beautiful relationship there ever is. Though Hosea may have only seen so far into his own life, there was so much more. And who but God knows the effects of it?
Verse 8-9a: “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.”
This gives more immediate context to our verse. As Paul is writing this letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians), he lets them know of his burdens. That he and those of God with him suffered in Asia leading them to be burdened, so utterly burdened, beyond their strength. So much so that they despaired of life itself.
In the words of Job as he went through his times of sorrow and feeling heavy-burdened: “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct; the graveyard is ready for me.” (Job 17:1)
Someone else who was very much despairing of life itself was someone who just seen the power of God firsthand. But then the world blocked his view and his focus became short-sighted. This would be Elijah, the foremost of the prophets. He had just seen the power of God burn a water-soaked altar, proving to Baal’s prophets that God alone is in control. But then Elijah let the threats of Jezebel on his life block his view on what he knew about God and ran away in fear.
He literally spent a day journeying through the wilderness, sat down under a broom tree, and asked for God to let him die. He was despairing of life itself.
And the God of all comfort brought Elijah food and drink, not once but twice, and sent his angel to gently wake Elijah and tell him, “Arise and eat.”
Elijah was seeing affliction that in the moment. He couldn’t see that it was for the comfort and salvation of others. That so much more was to come. That God was doing powerful things through him. Elijah felt alone and betrayed and like a failure.
Elijah was feeling the sentence of death.
And this is where the God shows that he is the Almighty God, still in control of everything.
He tells Elijah to stand, and when he does, Elijah feels a tearing wind, endures an earthquake, and sees a fire. But when Elijah heard a gentle and low whisper, almost a silence, he wrapped his face with his cloak and comes out of his cave. And that’s when God of all comfort and the Creator of heaven and earth said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
What are we doing there? What are we doing in the wilderness, under a broom tree or in a cave, so utterly burdened that we are despairing of life itself?
What would we do instead? Well, that’s in the next verse of where we’re looking in 2 Corinthians:
Verse 9b-10: “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”
This is the key! This is to make us rely not on ourselves but on God! And if we’ve forgotten, this is God, who raises the dead.
His knowledge and his power are so much more than we could even fathom.
If anything brings us and others closer to God in the end, it should be worth it.
After God asks Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” God tells him the purpose he still has for him. Elijah has kings to anoint and another prophet that will come after him. And God lets him know of 7,000 others who have not forsaken God. Elijah is not alone, he has a purpose, and his life is an important part in God’s story.
And even when our burdens are lifted, it doesn’t always happen in the way we think it should.
After the demon-possessed man was spiritually healed, he begged Jesus to let him go with Jesus. His burden was lifted, but there was so much more to his story within the story of God. Jesus told him to go home and tell them how much Jesus had done for him. God was glorified and because of this now-healed demon-possessed man, more people could know him.
When the disease-ridden woman was physically healed, she wasn’t able to slip back into crowd unnoticed. When Jesus felt power leave him, he stopped, turned around, and asked who touched him. Even when the disciples said it was impossible to know, Jesus patiently waited until the woman came before him and told him the whole truth. Others were able to see the majesty of God and she was able to hear Jesus say, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Although Jairus had Jesus’s attention first, while Jesus was going with him, Jesus was delayed by healing the other woman. We can’t be for sure, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Jairus wasn’t frustrated, impatient, or stressed. God may relieve our burdens, but it may not always be in our timing.
It all comes down to relying on God.
God has said that he would deliver us and he has! And because he has proved it, we have hope, we know that he will deliver us again.
God said that he would deliver the Israelites in Exodus 6:6-7, “Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”
And God did deliver them: Exodus 12:51, “And on that very day the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.”
On him we have set our hope, which we know is a sure and steadfast anchor for those of us who have fled for refuge, as it says in Hebrews 6:18-19.
And we know that he will deliver us again. He has promised it to us in John 14:3 as Jesus said: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
In the end, we know God will deliver us from our burdens—not by our logic or our timeframe or even our lifetime—but because we know that he has promised us forever in him.
No matter what the situation is, if we rely on God, we don’t carry our burdens alone and at some point, our burdens will be lifted. It’s another promise he gives:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
In God, no matter what’s going on, we find rest for our souls. In Christ, our burden is light.
So that was the verse in context. Now how does the beauty of this part of God’s Word change our lives:
We know that when we are in Christ, being so utterly burdened does not lead to despair. “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.” (2 Corinthians 4:8)
We know that our burdens may be used by God to show his strength. “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
We know that our burdens won’t last forever. “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)
And we know that being burdened beyond our strength leads us to rely on God. At the end of this letter, 2 Corinthians, Paul talked about his own burden and weakness it that and pleaded for God to take it away. “But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
Our burdens and our weaknesses can be used to bring glory to God if we let them.
So instead of wearily finishing our story with the fact that we are “so utterly burdened beyond our strength,” we bring it all in perspective and let God write our eternal hope-filled story in him as we instead say, “I rely on God.”
Well, that’s it for this time. I pray this week is a wonderful one as you continually seek the Truth in God’s Word, that by its light we will know the right path to follow to live as children of God- children that have an evergreen relationship with him.
Until the next one- same time, same place. See you soon!
1 Corinthians 1:3-10
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
