When You Are Crushed On Every Side
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There are all kinds of amazing verses in the Bible. Truly inspiring, life-changing verses. Ones you read and think, “WOW. God put that in there just for me, just for now. This is so powerful!” When you are crushed, they lift you up.
For me, one of those verses is 2 Corinthians 1:9. It’s been an anchor for my spirit and I want to share it with you, my sweet friend, because that’s what friends do. They share precious, important things with one another.
We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. (2 Cor 1:8b-9, NLT)
When You Are Crushed You Stop Relying On Yourself
Paul knew what it was to be crushed. In fact, he was overwhelmed beyond his ability to endure and thought he would die.
And it was a good thing.
Because of it, he stopped depending on his own strenght and learned to rely on God.
That’s the benefit of being crushed.
Self-reliance can be a burden. It can make you strive and strain for a mark you’ll never hit.
Because you’re not God.
And when you are crushed, that is no longer an option. You can’t strive, because you’re too weak. You can’t strain for something, because you’re too broken to do so. And you just have to stop.
When You Are Crushed You Rely Only On God
When you are crushed, you have to trust God. When you are crushed, you are no longer strong and are forced to rely on His strength. When you are crushed, you can either break or let God sustain you.
So you rely only on God, because you have nothing left.
This is a good thing, sweet friend! Coming to the end of yourself means you have to let go and your hands are free to hold on to God.
And note what Pauls says: he relies on the God who raises the dead! How powerful!
If you think you’re going to die (Paul did, and I know I’ve felt like it a time or two), what better person to rely on than the God who raises the dead?
When You Are Crushed Your Faith Grows To Sustain You
When you are in that place of crushing and you have nothing else to give in your own strength, you’re left with two choices.
You can either depend on God or give up. If you’re going to depend on God, your faith is going to get one good workout.
Alistair Begg said that “If dependence upon God is the objective, then weakness is an advantage.” How true!
You begin to know God more intimately, more uniquely during times of crushing.
Instead of simply believing He is able to provide, you know Him as the Provider.
Instead of just knowing He can heal, you discover that He does.
Instead of believing in the concept of God, He becomes awesomely real and present for you.
Blessed on Every Side
This, my sweet friend, is the blessing of being crushed. It points us toward God and relieves the pressure of our own performance needing to be enough. It puts the focus where it belongs.
When you are crushed on every side and trusting God, you are also blessed on every side.
There is no greater blessing than knowing God better and growing closer to Him.
This is a part of the Bible in 90 Days series.
