Over Much Sorrow (Part One)

Over the next two Wednesday nights. I will reference a book that takes its title from this verse. Book opens with “the brevity of a sermon not allowing me anytime for any unnecessary work.” then he preaches for 3 hours.

2 Corinthians 2:7 (KJV)

7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.

I will not read the book to you. Though I was helped by the book, the study of the context around the verse has taken me to a better book, with a better author.

2 Corinthians 1:1–11 (KJV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

6 And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

7 And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

BOOK SUMMARY

Before we enter the text, I want to begin with why this series matters.

Recently I have been reading Richard Baxter’s pastoral work titled The Cure of Melancholy and Overmuch Sorrow by Faith. Few books have spoken so plainly, honestly, and helpfully about the heavy emotional battles Christians face. Baxter writes like a man who has walked through the darkest rooms of human sorrow, yet found the lamps of Scripture still burning there.

Baxter describes excessive sorrow as:

“a continual troubling at the heart, a load lying heavier than the soul can lift”

“a sadness that progresses into despair, withdrawal, self condemnation, self hatred, and even self harm”

“a grief that swallows up all comfortable sense of the infinite goodness and love of God”

He explains that sorrow becomes dangerous when it begins to..

distort our view of God

our view of ourselves

our certainty of the promises of Scripture

And then Baxter says the only true cure is “to turn the eye away from inward darkness and toward the upward light of God”.

When you read Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1, you realize Baxter did not create this truth. Paul preached it first. Paul lived it first. Paul carried the burden first.

This series is about the God who comforts His people when sorrow tries to swallow them.

INTRODUCTION:

Let me ask you something Baxter forced me to ask myself:

How does it make you feel if I tell you there have been moments where I felt I might be swallowed up by sorrow?

Would that change how you see me?

Would you wonder if something is wrong with me?

Or would it finally give you permission to admit you have been there too?

You know on a computer when it asks you to validate you are not a robot. You mayhave seen the funny meme that shows a disappointing robot looking for another robot.

Remember hearing how the high priests in Leviticus were not allowed to rend their garments as others would do when over taken in grief. The high priest was the one person whose profession was hope. He could not symbolize defeat.

We are not high priests. However, we do have access to God in a way that was unique to them in their day. We should not rend our garments, but if we do we have a high priest who does not.

Christians often fall apart in suffering not because suffering is rare, but because we underestimated how difficult life actually is.

Scripture never underestimates life.

Paul never underestimates life.

God never underestimates what you carry.

Tonight God speaks directly into the real emotional world we live in.

Many Carry a Secret Weight

Some of you walked in today carrying internal pressure.

Some walked in exhausted in ways no one sees.

Some fought back tears in the car before you walked in the building.

Some are afraid their mind is slipping faster than they can hold it.

Some feel spiritually numb.

Some feel ashamed they cannot “snap out of it.”

Fear that a larger portion of our friends, family, and even church live with a “functioning sadness” we are ashamed to admit.

Listen carefully.

You are not strange.

You are not spiritually broken beyond repair.

You are not failing God.

You are standing in the same emotional crossroads Paul describes in this chapter.

Now let us walk into the text.

The God Who Comforts the Overwhelmed

2 Corinthians 1.1 to 1.11 gives us a three part movement:

The pressure

The purpose

The partnership

These are not ideas. They are Paul’s own lived experience.

Paul says life can hit harder than your strength can hold.

2 Corinthians 1:8 (KJV)

8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

Before Paul explains theology, he describes reality. God does not comfort imaginary problems. He comforts the real ones.

A. We were pressed out of measure.

“Pressed” is the imagery of crushing weight.

“Out of measure” means beyond calculation.

Baxter writes that sorrow can “disable the soul for its proper work, like a foot that is sprained and cannot carry the body”.

Paul is not dramatic. Paul is honest.

This is important.

We must stop treating sorrow as weakness.

The apostle of resurrection hope who said 1 Corinthians 15:19–20 “19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”

Paul felt crushed.

B. “Above strength.”

This means beyond human coping capacity.

Paul is not describing mild sadness. He is describing emotional collapse.

The enemy presses the mind. 2 Corinthians 2:11 “11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

The world presses the heart. John 16:33 “33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

The body presses the emotions. Elijah (1 Kings 19): Exhaustion, hunger, and fear led to deep emotional collapse.

God is not surprised by this. God is present in this.

Every heard anyone tell you, “I am afraid that one more phone call, one more disappointment, or one more loss might be the thing that pushes me over the edge.” They were not faithless. They were exhausted. And exhaustion is not rebellion. It is just admitting we are not a robot.

C. Insomuch that we despaired even of life.

Paul adds the strongest phrase: “we despaired even of life.”

Paul believed he might die under the pressure.

This is despair, but not unbelief.

Baxter explains that despair fights hope “as water fights fire”.

Paul is telling you what you have been afraid to tell anyone.

And God included this in Scripture so the crushed would not be ashamed.

Paul says God uses pressure to move your trust from you to Him.

2 Corinthians 1:9–10 (KJV)

9 But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;

After Paul shows us the weight, he now shows us the work God does under the weight.

A. That we should not trust in ourselves.

God was not punishing Paul. God was purifying Paul.

Pressure exposes the illusion of self sufficiency.

Baxter says sorrow often grows from “misinterpretations of God’s providence” and from the heart “over loving the body and this world”.

Baxter lists the causes of excessive sorrow:

• bodily weakness • unresolved guilt • fear of judgment • isolation • overthinking • trauma • restlessness • spiritual neglect • Satanic suggestion • misreading Scripture out of context • exhaustion • grief without support • loss of purpose

Paul walked through many of these. And they drove him to God, not away from Him.

B. But in God which raiseth the dead.

When self trust collapses,trust in a God who raises the dead matters.

God comforts us by reminding us who He is.

Hope is the anchor of the soul… and when hope is gone, storms toss them continually.

Hope is not a feeling.

Hope is an anchor.

And anchors are proven in storms.

C. Who delivered us… and doth deliver… in whom we trust that he will yet deliver.

Read with me. vs. 2 Corinthians 1:10 “10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;”

Paul gives three tenses of divine rescue.

God delivered us in the past.

God is delivering us in the present.

God will deliver us in the future.

Here is the refrain the Holy Spirit wants echoing in your heart:

He delivered.

He delivers.

He will deliver.

This is not poetic language. This is survival theology.

Paul says God delivers His people through the prayers and comfort of the church.

2 Corinthians 1:11 (KJV)

11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

Paul has taught us what God does. Now he teaches us how God does it.

A. Ye also helping together by prayer.

Prayer is not the last resort but the first participation.

God delivers His people through the prayers of His people.

Baxter warns, “Wolves love to see a sheep separated from the flock” because isolation ruins the mind.

Story of the pastor who made the house call. Says no words. TThe man expected a lecture. The pastor never offered one. He just walked in, sat down beside the man’s fireplace, and stayed quiet.

Prayer pulls the drowning believer toward the surface.

Prayer lifts what their hands cannot.

B. Comfort received becomes comfort given.

Paul writes earlier in this chapter: 2 Corinthians 1:4 “4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

Comfort is not meant to be hoarded. it is meant to be re-gifted.

The comfort you receive becomes the comfort you give.

Baxter lists how believers must help the sorrowful:

• speak truth gently • correct lies lodged in the mind • remind them of God’s love • encourage small steps, not giant leaps • stay physically present • guard them from isolation • pray without ceasing • celebrate small victories • speak promises again and again • show patience in every word

Comfort is an assignment, not a suggestion.

C. God weaves prayer, comfort, and rescue together.

God is the Deliverer.

The church is His agent.

Thanksgiving becomes the outcome.

Paul says your prayer and presence might be the rope God uses to pull someone out of the waters of despair.

Conclusion

So where do we begin when we begin to notice the heaviness of life?

• Be honest like Paul. • Quit pretending you have nothing heavy. • Reject the shame that says real Christians do not struggle. • Turn your eyes from inward darkness toward upward light. • Let the church carry part of the weight. • Choose community over isolation. • Cry out to the God who raises the dead.

You are not forgotten. You are not a burden. You are not strange.

You are not an interruption to our lives.

We will forgive you, when necessary.

We will help you carry your burden.

We admit we are also partakes of affliction.

Paul gives our church three commands.

Step 1. We speak honestly about struggles without praising Satan’s strategy.

Paul models honesty in verse 8.

2 Corinthians 1:8 “8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:”

Baxter says sorrow “concludes the worst” unless confronted by truth.

Step 2. We give others the comfort God has given us.

2 Corinthians 1:4 “4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

Comfort received must become comfort given.

Step 3. We pray because prayer is part of God’s rescue design.

2 Corinthians 1:11 “11 Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.”

Your prayer might be a large unspoken part of someone’s story or being rescued from despair.

Would you pray with me? Piano.

Who would like to be honest in this moment and say I know who I should be praying for it is me. Would you be honest and raise you hand and admit you feel as you may be over taken.

If that is not you, praise God. If you are aware of whom you should be praying for. Do that. Now. and often.