In the second letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul declares that he faces a very difficult situation, beyond his strength, until “death seemed certain” ( Corinthians 1:8). In Chapter 4 of the Two Corinthians, he expressed what he felt when he was faced with these circumstances.
But at the same time, he points out that there were restrictions on how far they could go. “We are under pressure from all sides, but not devastated. We are confused by the events, but we do not despair. We are persecuted, but we will never be abandoned. Cast, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9). In the 12th chapter of the two Corinthians, he says that when he recognized his limitations and weaknesses, he had the opportunity to receive, enjoy and be strengthened by Christ’s preparation.
Pain, suffering, loss, isolation, death, and grief touched all of us in unprecedented ways.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent post-pandemic political turmoil have created an unusual situation for most people. Pain, suffering, loss, isolation, death, and grief touched all of us in unprecedented ways. People respond in many different ways, and all of them are not healthy.
For example, on the one hand, people who have lost hope are looking at people who have completely no purpose and no future prospects. The pain brought them to a state of utter despair. They are defeated by the weight of hardship.
Meanwhile, we find deniers who are not aware of the pain they and others are experiencing. Denyers tend to respond with victory words, as if the suffering they experienced had not affected their minds. Perhaps, for fear of being defeated by suffering, they prefer to deny the sorrow of their souls. They refuse to mourn the loss.
One of our greatest desires, our greatest illusion is to control our lives and be called the captain of our souls. The catastrophe we experience will confront such fantasies and cause all sorts of unhealthy reactions.
Those who discover that they have no control over their destiny, their health, or their loved ones, will become despair as they cannot find a solution to the problem. “Everything is out of control. There’s no hope,” they might say.
Others denies the intensity of the problem in order to try to maintain control. “I take care of my problems. I can manage this situation. I am strong. I am in control,” they believe.
Neither of these types seek God’s help. The first one may not really believe him. The second simply doesn’t need him. Because they arrogantly think they can handle the situation themselves.
He used this situation to affirm his dependence on God.
The apostle Paul’s response was different. He recognized his limitations, his weaknesses, and the intensity of his pain, but he used the circumstances to affirm his dependence on God and receive the strength he needed to deal with his hardships. There are crying and lamenting, but there are miracles and recovery too. There is a manifestation of God’s power.
When Jesus met his friends Mary and Martha, he was grieving the loss of his brother Lazarus, despite knowing that he would raise him, the Bible said, “groaning at his spirit, He cried because he was very troubled (John 11:33-35).
Jesus examined loss, pain and suffering and empathized with them, but he asked to deal with the pain of prayer to his Father and demonstrate his strength in the circumstances. This led people to be supported, comforted and believed through the tools of suffering and manifestation of God’s power, which stems from Jesus’ deep and sincere prayer.
So we follow Jesus’ example, as Paul did. We present our suffering, but assert our dependence on God’s love. When we are under pressure from all sides, we are not choking. When you don’t understand what’s going on, you need to trust God.
In the face of the most severe difficulties, we know that he will never leave or abandon those who are firm with him. And if we are knocked down, we need to trust that he will always raise us… in his time.
Jose Rocifran C Macedo. Presbyterian pastor, New Testament of the American Bible Seminary, Massachusetts. Since 1983, Emem/WEC Brazilian missionary. He and his wife, Alicia, are directors of the Missionary Training University, and were the directors of WEC Brazil’s Training Seminary for Cross-Cultural Workers, for 12 years, and for 9 years as directors of WEC Brazil. They organized WEC Brazil’s Member Care Division and Missionary (MK) Care. Since 2009, they have been coordinators of Philhos, the MK Care division of AMTB’s Brazilian Mating Mission Association. Rosifran is the author of “Protecting What Is Precious,” a manual for the safety and protection of cross-cultural workers. He is a coordinator of AMTB Security, a member of the AMTB Board of Directors and is a Brazilian representative of the Global Member Care Network Committee.
