Tag: 2Corinthians

Today was such a nice leisurely morning. I got up with the ‘Littles’ and let Marianne sleep in. We had a slow start with a lingering restful time of reading together and enjoying the laughter of these little chickens (Prim and Brooklyn). Around lunch time we started to make snowflakes that we then hung up over the window looking out onto the backyard…everyone did such a great job!

5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:5-7 [ESV]

Today’s quiet time and reflection on God’s Word continued with ‘God’s comfort and the comfort we give to others’ but now Paul pulls in our Lord Jesus Christ into the picture to show that ‘Being in Christ’ not only includes participating in His suffering but also in His comfort. As the Body of the Church of Christ we share in these things together which is what Paul was trying to encourage the Corinthian church with.

Paul also goes on to say that if (when) we are afflicted, it is for our comfort and salvation. God wants us to draw into Himself; He knows that He is the best thing for us, but we must discover and recognize this need. I believe that God allows trials, affliction, and difficult times to fall on us so that we might turn toward Him. When we do this, He grows our faith by pouring out this comfort Paul speaks of here.

The next crazy part of what Paul says here is that you get comfort when you ‘patiently endure’ suffering. Paul knows what suffering is – he has been chased, imprisoned, persecuted, and even dealt with some physical ailment he calls ‘a thorn in his side’. So, he closes this thought by telling the church that from his own experience, that when they suffer as he suffers, they will also receive the same comfort he has had.

Application:

The first thing I must ask myself is “am I a follower of Jesus who patiently endures suffering”? I can honestly answer this by saying “No…but I need to be”. Because I am a person whose flesh is easily tossed by the waves of circumstances and situations, I must remember to quickly move into a posture of prayer and openness to the will and purposes of God that have me in the situation/circumstances that cause suffering. I also must be looking for God’s hand of comfort, acknowledging it, and receiving it with gratefulness and love for Him.

Having finished Philemon, I am now moving on to 2nd Corinthians. I have read through 2nd Corinthians many times and reference it a lot but have not yet done a deliberate study of the book. I know this because I have not highlighted it. Look here at the difference between Philemon and 2 Corinthians.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement),
4 Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 [AMP]

I really love the description of the Lord by Paul here right at the beginning of this book.

Attributes of God called out by Paul:

• Sympathetic
• Merciful
• Comforter
• Encourager
• Not just a ‘Sunny Day’ God -> He is with us in the best and worst times.

The reason these couple of verses hit me a little harder than normal today is partly because of a book I just started reading call ‘The Insanity of God’ by Nik Ripkin. This book is about a missionary to Africa (Somalia) that tells of his and his family’s stories and how God shows up in the worst of circumstances. So, if I am getting precise, my chewing today is specifically on this portion ->

“[ESV]…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.”

God comforts us in the worst of times, so that we can comfort others in the worst of their times, with the comfort God shows us when we are comforted by Him. Just dwell on that saying it over and over again in your mind.

Application:

First – am I paying attention to the comforting hand of God when I am in painful circumstances? Second – does this acknowledgement translate into seeking out others in pain who I can come along and comfort with the same loving comfort God has shown me? For Nik Ripkin, he and his wife Ruth would actually put themselves in harm’s way to help the war torn, famine stricken, and hopeless Somali people. This all comes down to having a heart that is filled with the love of God; filled to the point that everything I think and desire to do is what He thinks and desires of me. Praying today that God would continue to help me see how much I and others need Him even thought I live comfortably here in the United States, with food on my table, a roof over my head, money in my bank, and a healthy family…none of which the Somali people had in the timeframe this “Insanity of God” book was written.