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2 Corinthians 1:4,6- My suffering and others.

Here is the revelation that is shaping my life today…

He always comes alongside us to comfort us in every suffering so that we can come alongside those who are in any painful trial. We can bring them this same comfort that God has poured out upon us. If troubles weigh us down, that just means that we will receive even more comfort to pass on to you for your deliverance! For the comfort pouring into us empowers us to bring comfort to you. And with this comfort upholding you, you can endure victoriously the same suffering that we experience.

Observation

I am confronted again and again by how selfish I am. When I suffer all I can think about is me. I complain about God and focus on me and the woes of what is now my situation. I have never viewed suffering from the context of others. What if my suffering is “so that we (I) can come alongside those who are in any painful trial.” The way I suffer equips me to stand with others who suffer. My family, my friends, my community, the way I journey through suffering becomes the ministry I have to those who I love when they suffer. What a new lens through which to see suffering, equipping me to be a blessing. The more trouble endured the more comfort to pass on. “For the comfort pouring into us empowers us to bring comfort to you.”

Suffering is not all the same situationally, but is all the same. It brings deep pain, it challenges our faith, it has us ask difficult questions of God, it has us ask questions of life. Suffering finds its cause in different circumstances but  what it does to us is similar, if not the same. My suffering equips me for deliverance ministry to others in suffering.

I love the promise of God – “He always comes alongside us to comfort us in every suffering.” We demand answers and relief, solutions and immediate deliverance. We come to God in suffering and demand He perform the way we have decided that will bring the end of suffering. We miss His promise that he will come alongside us to comfort us. Comfort is the ministry required to journey the path, sometimes long paths, of suffering. We must seek God to bring resolution to our suffering in time, but position ourselves in His comfort during the time of suffering before breakthrough comes. I often cannot tell you what breakthrough will look like, but I can always assure that comfort is available to any who would choose Him.


Application

I will change the way I see the challenges I face. I will look at what I journey through and the suffering I face as a way to equip me to stand with others through suffering.


Response

Thank you for the promise of comfort in my suffering. Thank you for the ministry of the overflow of comfort. Thank you that you design us to be your hands and feet in the lives of others. Suffering whilst not welcome, I know I am not immune from, thank you that you are my comfort in these times, I am not alone, despite what my feelings scream at me. I am a blessed man to be a blessing.


Meditation

Spend some time in meditation, reframe your view of suffering. 


JOURNEY DEEPER
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