Serving God In Difficult Times Series

It is amazing and beautiful to see how Paul comes to know God and experience Him as the God of all comfort despite his trials and tribulations.

• Most people would complain about their sufferings and question God. “Why me?” and “What this?” when we have been serving Him so faithfully?

• Some may turn from God because of the sufferings they see or encounter themselves.

• Like Job’s wife telling Job in his affliction: “Curse God and die.” (Job 2:9)

Paul in his sufferings came to know God as Father of mercies and God of all comfort, precisely because of his trials.

• Just like Job at the very end. He said, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

but now my eye sees you…” (Job 42:5). He came to truly know God.

• The sufferings did not cause them to doubt God but draw them closer to Him instead.

God was their source of strength and comfort in all their afflictions.

• Learn the lesson here. It might take tribulations for us to truly experience God’s love, comfort and grace.

• We know God, not apart from the troubles of life but through the troubles of life.

Does suffering drive you TO God or FROM God? Our response to this question is an indication of where we are, spiritually.

• Do not let suffering drive a wedge between us and God. Don’t misinterpret it too quickly and naively.

• Let sufferings drive us to God and cause us to experience His comfort.

We SERVE GOD THROUGH AFFLICTIONS.

• Paul says God 4…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. (1:4)

Today we are going to see another aspect of Paul’s suffering – the emotional pain that he was put through.

• Paul was wrongly accused and opposed by some, not by those without but within the church. He has to explain himself in today’s text.

2 Cor 1:12-24 ESV

12For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. 13For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand—14just as you did partially understand us—that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.

15Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. 16I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. 17Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. 21And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

23But I call God to witness against me—it was to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. 24Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.

2 Cor 2:1-4 ESV

1For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. 2For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Let us take a look at the context and appreciate the situation.

• Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus and later 2 Corinthians from Macedonia.