Psalm 107:23-32; 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships,
Who do business on great waters,
24 They see the works of the LORD,
And His wonders in the deep.
25 For He commands and raises the stormy wind,
Which lifts up the waves of the sea.
26 They mount up to the heavens,
They go down again to the depths;
Their soul melts because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
29 He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because they are quiet;
So He guides them to their desired haven.
31 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise Him in the company of the elders.

8 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. 9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, 10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does[a] deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us, 11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our[b] behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

Hopefully you have never experienced "the sentence of death" Paul describes in the first chapter of Second Corinthains. But chances are, you have experienced a crisis in which you felt impending doom, something you thought was going to turn out very badly and that you felt little control over. Why would a loving God would actually place us in those situations on purpose, like these passages state? I think the reasons are also given in these passages. In Psalm 107, the men on the ship were forced to cry out to the Lord in their trouble. They then got to experience His great saving power followed by a sense of great thankfulness to the Lord. In Second Corinthians, Paul said his crisis happend " that we should not trust in ourselves but in God", and "that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf."

These crisis situations can motivate us to grow spiritually in ways that we would not be driven to otherwise. In these situation we are taught things that can serve us in all aspects of our lives, including:

1) How to call upon God for help. Someone who usually saves this option for the last resort, when faced frequently with the last resort, might begin to call upon God sooner for help in times of trouble.

2) How to trust in Him only. Someone who prefers to trust in their own strength, if faced with the fraility of that strength frequently might begin to embrace the availability of a stronger source.

3) How to better understand His ability to save us. This can give us the confidence to take more risks and thereby live fuller lives.

4) How to thank Him. Someone who ordinarily takes for granted God's blessings in their lives can no longer ignore His benefits right after they have been delivered by Him in a life or death situation.