Looking back over the past year there are many things we can be thankful. Often times we only remember the bad things and forget that God got us through those times by his grace.
We can’t change the past, but we can be thankful for how God brought us through on the victorious way.
As we begin this series on 2 Corinthians, it is a carryover from 1 Corinthians.
I like the way the apostle Paul begins this letter by talking about “the comfort we receive.”
Paul is trying to encourage the Corinthians in particular as well as all Christians universal that God has a comfort for us that is nothing compared to in the world.
Many times, we go through troubles and trials all and we can think about is ourselves. We rarely think of other people who are going through worse times than we are going through. We also do not understand why God is allowing us to go through these hard times.
If I can get a grasp on this, it is going to make my Christian experience that much more joyful.
Nothing we experience can ever compromise the comfort God has for us.
Paul is encouraging us to believe that God has the comfort we need and when we need it.
One of the interesting things in this first chapter is Paul sharing with them the troubles that he had and that many times he did not think he was going to get through it.
“We want you to know, Christian brothers, of the trouble we had in the countries of Asia. The load was so heavy we did not have the strength to keep going. At times we did not think we could live. We thought we would die. This happened so we would not put our trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead” (8-9).
It is hard for us to imagine that the apostle Paul had come to such a point in his life and ministry that he did not think he would go on.
Each of us has been at that point I’m sure.
The enemy would have us think that God has abandoned us and we are on our own.
Paul is pointing out to us something quite different. When we think we have reached the end of our strength we discover God’s grace is just beginning.
“Yes, God kept us from what looked like sure death and he is keeping us. As we trust him, he will keep us in the future” (10).
The thing I want to emphasize today is from verse three where Paul says, “our God who gives us comfort.”
This is the focus of our Christian experience. No matter what we’re going through God has provided for us the comfort we need to endure it victoriously and not just get through it.
How does God manage this comfort that he has provided for us in our everyday living? Let me lay out several aspects of this comfort that comes our way as brothers and sisters in Christ.
I. The Individual Aspect.
“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Father Who shows us lovingkindness and our God who gives us comfort” (3).
Everybody’s experience is just a little bit different. Sometimes we have the idea that we all suffer the same thing. Even people who suffer the same disease often have different symptoms.
When we come to our walk with Christ the enemy attacks us individually at what he thinks is our weakest point.
All of us have a weak point and the devil knows it very well. Sometimes are weak point is what we think is our strong point.
What Paul is trying to point out here is that the comfort God has for us is individually tailored for each person. We can trust God to give us what we need, when we need it, so that we can be victorious in our Christian walk.
It is wonderful to learn from other people how they have managed their Christian life. However, God treats me as though I was the only Christian in the world. I hope you do not misunderstand that. God’s focus on me is as if he had no other focus.
There is no comfort template that fits every Christian. God is looking at us individually and preparing us individually for the work that he has for us. Along with that, individual preparation is that individual comfort that enables us to get through it.
I find it interesting that Paul says that he did not think he was going to get through this experience. None of us are experiencing what Paul experienced. Yet the comfort that God gave to Paul is a symbol of the comfort God wants to give us.
If I am going through a financial crisis, it is a little different then if I am going through a physical crisis.
The same way in my spiritual walk. God is giving me the comfort I need at the time I need it and where I needed.
If you are walking with God, you need not fear anything because you are under the shadow of his wing and nothing can touch you without coming first through God.
The comfort I have today is tailored for my daily needs, as I need them.
II. The Intentional Aspect.
“He gives us comfort in all our troubles. Then we can comfort other people who have the same troubles. We give the same kind of comfort God gives us” (4).
This is the other aspect of God’s comfort in our life. My life is not just happenstance or an accident. Rather, there is purpose and intention in my walk with Christ.
Therefore, the comfort that God gives me is intentional. Not a last-minute Band-Aid.
There are two aspects to this.
1. There is that personal aspect in my own life. As I am experiencing certain problems and difficulties, I also can count on God’s intentional comfort to get me through that situation.
I begin to understand how much God loves me and how much God is willing to do for me when I am where he wants me to be.
2. There is that sharing aspect through my life. What I experience is of such a nature that I can share it with other people.
David hints at this when he says, “My cup runneth over.”
If God’s comfort to me just satisfied my needs at the time, I would have nothing to share with other people.
God’s comfort is of such a nature that it floods my life to overflowing in such a way that he can touch the lives of people around me.
I like to think of this is the testimony aspect. God’s comfort in my life is of such a nature that it becomes a testimony to people around me who are going through similar problems and difficulties.
I think Paul is saying something like this, “If I can make it through my troubles and tribulations, so can you.”
Versus 6-7.
The comfort that flows in me also flows through me and touches everybody around me.
III. The Inspirational Aspect.
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).
When we think of the inspirational aspect, we are focusing on the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus called him the Comforter for a reason.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to manage the comfort God has for each believer. As I surrender myself on a daily basis to the Holy Spirit, I am being supplied with the comfort I need for that day.
The word inspiration simply means, the breath of God. As God breathes into my life, he is breathing comfort, grace and strength.
Look at verses 10-11. This is a reference to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives bringing us the comfort we need.
The inference here is that the Holy Spirit responds to the prayers of God’s people. When I pray for myself, the Holy Spirit begins to open up and pour into my life what I need.
When I pray for other people, the same thing happens. The Holy Spirit opens up the comfort and grace needed to that individual’s life.
Paul is hinting at the idea that we have an awesome responsibility to work with the Holy Spirit not only in our life but also in the lives of other believers.
When I’m going through some troubled times the Holy Spirit breathes into my life and situation the comfort I need it and inspires me to go further in my work and ministry. If God gets me through the first step, I can trust him to get me through the second step and all the steps after that.
Also, I can be an inspiration to other people who are going through hard times. I can share with them my testimony of the comfort that came upon me when I was going through troubled times.
Just like the apostle Paul gave testimony of the importance of God’s comfort in his own life.
As I experience the individual aspect of God’s comfort in my life, I begin to understand that it is intentional from God’s point of view and that the inspirational aspect is the Holy Spirit weaving that comfort into my life as I need it.
Conclusion…
No matter what I am going through it is not bigger than God. And the comfort God has for me will be more than enough to get me through this problem and difficulty victoriously.
What I need to do is trust God.
That begins by acknowledging the fact that I cannot trust myself. Too many people trust themselves, their education and their experiences to get them through the situation before them now.
I need to understand that I do not have enough strength or wisdom to get through my problems.
The second thing is to realize that only God has the grace and strength and comfort I need to get through this situation.
Therefore, I need to commit myself wholly to God through the Lord Jesus Christ. I need to confess Christ as my Savior and Lord and trust him for the strength and comfort I need each day.
Anything outside of this does not work.
You can be a religious good person all you want to be. The problem is, you will face situations that are beyond your religion and goodness. That is when you need to put your religion aside and begin to trust Jesus Christ to bring into your life through the work of the Holy Spirit the comfort you need at this time.
