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Today's Bible Verse:

2 Corinthians 1:8-9
For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead ...(NKJV)

Today's Inspiring Thought: Despairing Even of Life

We all know that Paul was a man of faith, a man who was not easily deterred.

But things had gotten so bad that he despaired even of his life.

None of us want to go through severe trials. None of us want to experience such pain and hardship that we hit the point of despairing of our lives. We don't often welcome difficulty. Unfortunately, in spite of not wanting these things—despair, pain, and hardship are unavoidable parts of life. The good news is, there is a plus side to experiencing hardship.

Paul had to turn his attention from self to God. The problems at hand were beyond him. In that state, he could only do one thing: trust in the God who raised from the dead. Paul's trials were too much for him, humanly speaking, but he knew they were no match for God who has power and authority even over death.

Our trials in life likely have many purposes. But perhaps one of their main purposes is to show us that we can't possibly handle things on our own; we need God's help. Apart from trials, we may be tempted to fall into an attitude of self-sufficiency when in reality we need to always lean on God and his strength.

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Rebecca Livermore is a freelance writer, speaker and contributor for About.com. Her passion is helping people grow in Christ. She is the author of the weekly devotional column Relevant Reflections on www.studylight.org and is a part-time staff writer for Memorize Truth (www.memorizetruth.com). For more information visit Rebecca's Bio Page.