Suffering and affliction are part of God’s plan for our Christian lives. The inspired and suffering apostle wrote:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in jChrist’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
Gerri loves to read and is currently reading with a friend through Dr. Gary Millar’s, 2 Corinthians for You.
As Gerri and I were talking about the suffering that our church family has been going through due to COVID, she shared with me what she had just been reading concerning 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 from Gary Millar’s book:
“Paul assumes that the Christian life is one of suffering and strengthening, of setbacks and encouragement, of struggle and joy. That’s what we can expect for ourselves and for other people. This is the rhythm of life this side of the new creation. And so, this will always be the reality of ministry. We face difficulties. God encourages us. Out of God’s encouragement of us, we encourage other people. Repeat.
This is authentic ministry. God comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. If you want to be of any use to God, then welcome to the rest of your life” (p. 20).
I’ve been seeing this 2 Corinthians cycle in my life and the lives of our church family a lot in recent weeks. Suffering. God encourages the sufferer. The sufferer passes on that encouragement to another. Repeat.
Of course, the greatest way God encourages us is His Word. Let’s be quick to pass Scripture on to others. A dear sister, whose husband was seriously ill, shared that “Psalm 23 has been sustaining me through this time.” She quoted one of the verses to me. I quoted another of its verses back to her. We were both comforted by God.
One thing God is doing during the pandemic is revealing the deep love God’s people have for one another. There has been a lot of “weeping with those who weep” and “rejoicing with those who rejoice.”
God will use this for good. Jesus promised, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). I’m seeing that love in our church family and know that God will use it greatly for His glory.