作者：Scott Churnock 譯者：駱鴻銘
你是否聽人說過：「上帝絕對不會把超過你所能負擔的給你。」真的嗎？這真的是聖經的教導嗎？你自己的經驗能證實這點嗎？讓我們誠實一點。在你行過「死蔭的幽谷」的那些時節，這種陳腔濫調不僅無法給你帶來任何安慰，也會在我們身上堆起高高的罪咎感。擁有堅定信心的使徒保羅，對哥林多教會如此描述他的極度痛苦：Have you ever heard someone say, “God will never give you more than you can bear”? Really? Is this what the Bible teaches? Is
this what your own experience confirms? Let’s be honest. In those seasons when
we are walking through “the valley of the shadow of death,” this platitude not
only provides little comfort, but it also piles a lot of guilt on us. The
apostle Paul, who was no weakling in the faith, described his feelings of
anguish to the Corinthian church:
弟兄們，我們不要你們不曉得，我們從前在亞西亞遭遇苦難，被壓太重，力不能勝，甚至*連活命的指望都絕了*；
（林後一8；強調是我加的）For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of
the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond
our strength that we despaired of life itself. (2 Cor. 1:8; emphasis mine)
保羅沒有描述使他連活命的指望都絕了的究竟是什麼事，但是他讓我們知道，這是超過他所能承擔的！在哥林多後書一章8～10節，保羅給我們在困難的問題上，上了小小的一課——這是當我們「被壓太重、力不能勝」的時候，神給我們的生命線。Paul doesn’t describe the affliction that caused him to despair
even of life, but he does let us know that it was more than he could bear! In 2
Corinthians 1:8–10, Paul gives us a minicourse on affliction—a divine lifeline
for those times when we are “burdened beyond our strength.”
苦難的現實The Reality of Affliction
「自己心裡也斷定是必死的」（林後一9a）“Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of
death” (2 Cor. 1:9a).
保羅在他寫給哥林多人的信中，對於他所受的磨難究竟是什麼，刻意保持模糊。細節並不重要，重要的是保羅試圖要把他所感受到的痛苦和絕望傳達給他的讀者。這意味著面對各種形式的苦難、災難、痛苦的基督徒，可以和保羅認同，也同樣得到幫助。In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is
intentionally vague about the nature of his suffering. The specifics aren’t important. It is the reality of the pain and
hopelessness he felt that Paul seeks to convey to his readers. This means that
Christians who face various forms of suffering, affliction, and pain can
identify with Paul and be helped in the same way.
這個苦難壓迫著保羅，超過了他的底線。當時的處境如此絕望，並且是遠遠超過他所能處理的，以至於他以為他就要死了。保羅的措詞是被關押在死囚室的人所說的話。他身處在一個絕望的處境裏，無法靠人力逃脫。This affliction had pushed Paul beyond his
limits. His situation was so desperate and utterly beyond his ability to
handle, that he thought he was going to die. The very words Paul uses are those
of a man on death row. He was in a hopeless situation with no human way of
escape.
上帝是否只給我們力所能擔當的事？根據保羅，不是！倘若上帝只給我們自己能處對付的事，只給我們靠自己可以擔當的，我們為什麼還需要祂？倘若我們有能力處理此生中出現的所有問題，有可能我們自己裏面也擁有處理來世問題的能力。Does God only give us what we can bear? Not
according to Paul! If God only gives us what we can handle, if he only gives us
what we can bear, why do we need him? If we have the ability to handle what
comes our way in this life, just maybe we have within us the ability to deal
with the next life as well.
苦難的原因The Reason for Affliction
「叫我們不靠自己，只靠叫死人復活的神。」（林後一9b）“But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on
God who raises the dead”
(2 Cor. 1:9b).
苦難的背後有上帝預旨的目的，即改變我們對自己的看法。保羅在這裏的話，字面上的意思是：「叫我們不靠自己而站立……」他受到的重壓超過他人類能力的範圍，在面對必然的死亡時，自我倚靠是完全派不上用場的。這種痛苦帶領他來到一個必須倚靠至高者的境地，祂不僅擁有勝過死亡的權勢，也已經擊敗了死亡。Afflictions have a divinely ordained purpose,
namely, to change our perspective regarding ourselves. Paul’s words here literally mean, “to make us stand
not relying on our ourselves…” He was pushed beyond the limits of his human
ability and was confronted with the complete inadequacy of self-reliance in the
face of certain death. This pain brought him to the place of dependence upon
the One who not only has power over death but also has defeated it.
這就是為什麼苦難是上帝要給我們的化妝的祝福的原因。當我們受壓超過我們的能力範圍，這些沉重的掌管護佑（hard
providences）就揭示出我們無力對付終極的現實：死亡。若我們無法對付癌症，我們憑什麼認為我們有能力對付死亡呢？這些「難以承擔」的時刻是上帝吸引我們憑著單純的信心更靠近祂的時刻。This is why afflictions are a divine blessing
in disguise. When we are pressed beyond our limits, these hard providences reveal
our inability to deal with the ultimate reality: death. If we can’t handle
cancer, what makes us think we can handle death? These “unbearable” times are
when God draws us closer to himself in simple faith.
對苦難的回應The Response to Affliction
「祂曾救我們脫離那極大的死亡，現在仍要救我們，並且我們指望祂將來還要救我們。」（林後一10）He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will
deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again (2 Cor.
1:10).
因為我們深知那位良善和滿有恩典的上帝，在我們的苦痛中仍在行事，為要叫我們更加唯獨倚靠祂，我們就能用盼望來回應這些時刻。Because we know that our good and gracious God
is at work in our pain to bring us to a greater dependence upon him alone, we
can respond to these times with hope.
盼望是在苦難的土壤裏生長出來的。在這個肥沃的土地上，聖靈讓我們察覺到我們在基督裏滿有榮耀的盼望。我們滿有恩典的天父的確經常拯救我們脫離今生的許多苦難，但是這些暫時的拯救會使我們用盼望仰望未來，並期待那尚未到來的偉大拯救。雖然我們無法確定上帝是否會除去我們現在正在面對的壓迫著我們的重擔，但是我們有祂終極拯救的確據。祂是那叫死人復活的，是我們所注目盼望的就是祂。Hope grows in the soil of affliction. In this
fertile ground, the Holy Spirit makes us aware of the glorious hope we have in
Christ. Our gracious heavenly Father often does deliver us from the many
afflictions of this life, but these temporal deliverances cause us to look to
the future with hope and anticipation for the great deliverance yet to come.
While we cannot be certain that God will remove the crushing burden we face
right now, we can be assured of his ultimate deliverance. He is the one who
raises the dead, and upon him we have set our hope.
福音的應許不是我們今生所有的難題都會得到解決，或者我們絕對不會面對超過我們能力所能承擔的難題。福音的中心是基督。祂是我們所需要的一切。祂是我們唯一的盼望。愛我們的天父上帝經常會將超過我們能力的事加在我們身上，為要叫我們更加倚靠基督，祂是我們真正的力量。祂甚至會帶領我們對生命本身不存指望，好叫我們可以在那位叫死人復活的至高者身上找到安慰和安息的力量。The gospel is not a promise that all our
problems in this life will be solved—or that we will never face anything beyond our ability
to bear. The gospel is all about Christ. He is everything we need. He is our
only hope. Our loving heavenly Father often burdens us beyond our ability in
order to deepen our dependence upon Christ, who is our true strength. He may
even bring us to despair of life itself, so that we might find the comfort and
strength of resting on the One who raises the dead.