Passage of the Day: 2nd Corinthians 1: 1 - 4 … 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
My Journal for Today: What a wondrous chain of comfort is brought to believers in this passage; and if you are in the family of God, it is likely that you have experienced this chain of comfort in your life at some time.
Example: You may have had a big problem or challenging set of circumstances at some point and you gain great comfort from knowing or reading God’s word … or maybe from being in His creation … or from the fellowship of believers (i.e., from your church). And having had this comfort, you become compelled and empowered to reach out and provide God’s love and comfort to others in need of what you can provide. And so the chain of comfort proclaimed and promoted in today’s passage becomes reality in the lives of those to Whom God sees fit to offer it through His people.
As John MacArthur describes it, “… proportionately … the more we suffer, the more God comforts us; and the more He comforts us, the more we can comfort others who are hurting.” And the beat goes on! The Apostle Paul, who wrote of this sharing chain of comfort sharing principle, was a good role model for this for God’s inspired truth in the passage he wrote for today’s devotional. He had suffered much in his life (see his litany of suffering in 2nd Cor. 11); and so, in turn, he was able to provide first-hand witness as to how life’s suffering could be turned into a blessing for others (see also 1st Cor. 12: 26 and 2nd Cor. 6: 7).
Have you suffered in some way, testing your faith; and have you come out of it a stronger, more mature Christian? If so, go and provide comfort and encouragement to others in Christ’s Name.
My Prayer Today: I am blessed to help others, Lord, as You have helped me. Amen
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