2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
We read news reports every day
about young people arrested for dealing drugs. We watch in horror on the TV
news as we see some young person getting gunned down in a drive-by shooting.
These reports have something in common: a parent, a sibling, or close family
and friends are devastated and grieving for them.
Most of us in our lifetime
have someone close to us that has lost a family member, a child, a mate,
brother or sister, or a close friend. These folks are grieving and need the
comfort and peace that can come from only one source: God. These hurting souls
need the reassurance that this dark valley they are walking in is not because
God is displeased with them. Instead, they need the calm assurance that God
weeps with them and that He is always there and will never leave us or forsake
us.
The apostle Paul went through
beatings, and once they stoned him and left him for dead. He suffered
imprisonment on several occasions, people shunned him for teaching the gospel
of Christ, and finally killed for his faith. Yet, through all the tribulations
and trials, he continued to witness for our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. Most
likely, none of us will ever go through a fraction of the suffering and grief
that Paul went through. None the less, there are people out there going through
devastating periods in their lives, suffering and grieving for the loss of
someone close to them or a friend or family member that is lost and in need of
the saving hand of Christ.
If you have ever gone through
some grief or tribulation and God has brought you through the deep dark valley
you were in, you know the feeling of the sweet peace and comfort that comes
only from God. He did not bring this comfort to us only to make us comfortable;
He means for us to be used by Him to be a comfort to others that are going
through what we have already been through.
Paul could have had the pity
party of all times, but he chose to continue to praise God and carry the gospel
of Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth. He then counseled us on what we
should do for others with the comfort we received from God. Finally, he tells
us, “That we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we receive from
God.”
Allow yourself to be used of
God as a comforter to others that are going through what God has already
brought you through.
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