Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of a handful of German theologians to stand up to the Nazification of the German church. Bonhoeffer’s courage thrust him into leadership in that part of the Protestant church that opposed Hitler. He founded an underground seminary in Bavaria, which was closed by Gestapo chief Heinrich Himmler. This led to his joining the resistance movement and his being imprisoned by the Gestapo in April 1943. Bonhoeffer’s Letters from Prison became a best seller after the war.
Among the letters is a beautiful poem written to his fiancée Maria von Wedemeyer entitled “New Year 1945.” Stanza 3 is famous:
Should it be ours to drain the cup of grieving
Even to the dregs of pain,
At thy command, we will not falter,
Thankfully receiving all that is given
By thy loving hand.
Those touching and piercing words became more so when, three months later, just as the war was ending; Bonhoeffer was hung in Flossenburg prison.
Fast-forward to some eighteen years later, across the Atlantic in America, when another bride-to-be was grieving the death of her fiancé’ and found much comfort in Bonhoeffer’s poem. Her fiancé’, who died from injuries in a sledding accident, was the son of author Joe Bayly and his wife May Lou. When she mailed Bonhoeffer’s poem to them, Joe and Mary Lou also found comfort in “New Year 1945.”
Twelve years after this (thirty years after Bonhoeffer’s death), Joe Bayly received a letter from a pastor-friend in Massachusetts relating that he had visited a terminally ill woman in a Boston hospital for some period and had given her Joe’s book of poems, Heaven, as comfort for her soul. The pastor said that the dying woman had stayed awake late the previous night to read it, and told him of the comfort and help she had received from it. A few hours later she died. The woman, the pastor revealed, was Maria von Wedemeyer-Weller, Bonhoeffer’s fiancée three decades earlier! (R. Ken Hughes)
At the very beginning of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians Paul tells them that God comforts us so that we can comfort others to trust God. Sometimes that comfort will come full circle like the story of Bonhoeffer. Paul, the author of half of the books of the New Testament, writes more about suffering than any other writer in the Bible, and Paul writes a lot about suffering. In this passage Paul says more about comfort and suffering than anywhere else in his writings. The word “comfort” occurs no less than 10 times in its verb and noun form in this brief paragraph. That’s one-third of the 31 times it is used in all the New Testament.
There’s a reason for this. He is answering his critics who said that the sufferings that characterized his life were evidence that he was not an apostle. If he were the real deal, he wouldn’t experience so much trouble. Paul’s answer is that his abundant suffering and overflowing comfort are in fact signs that he is a genuine apostle of the Lord Jesus.
Come as you are when you need comfort because God is a God of comfort.
I. GOD IS A GOD OF COMFORT (2 COR. 1:3-4)
(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.
The word “praise” is our word eulogy, meaning a good word. Paul eulogizes God. He speaks a good word about God. It’s not uncommon to find people speaking a questioning word about God when they suffer, “Where is God when I suffer?” Others speak an accusing word; “If God cared he would not allow me to suffer as I do?” Some deny God. Many stories are told of people who lost their faith in God after some tragedy entered their life. But Paul’s response to suffering was to praise God. Why?
Because Paul learned that the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” Paul is not saying Jesus is less than God the Father. He is saying they are equal in relationship with one another.
What we clearly learn about the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is He is the God of compassion or mercy. We experience many trials and tribulations in this life. During those heartaches God shows us compassion. Some people wrongly believe that the Old Testament reveals God as wrathful. It’s not true. He is shown to be very merciful. I can prove it with one passage but there are many passages I could cite.
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell* in the house of the LORD
Forever.
He is the God of all mercy or compassion. He is the God of comfort. What do we mean by “comfort?” If we went to one of the big box stores and I asked, “Where would you find comfort?” Some would take me to the food aisles; others would take me where they have pillows. Those are creature comforts. Paul is talking about a different kind of comfort.
Our word “comfort” is Latin and it is made up of two words, “with” and “strength.” To comfort someone is to give them strength. The Greek word that’s translated comfort includes the idea of relationship. It describes someone coming alongside to give you strength.
In the middle of the night your house shakes with a thunderstorm. Through sleepy eyes you see your little child or grandchild standing beside the bed. They want to get in bed with you. Not because the bed or pillows are comfortable, but they are comforted by lying beside her parents. You may say, “Don’t worry. I’m here.” That describes this word for comfort.
In our hour of need, the God of compassion and all comfort sent his Son Jesus to be by our side and to take our place on the cross. As Jesus was leaving the disciples, he said in Matthew 28:18-20, known as the Great Commission, he would never leave us nor forsake us even to the end of the ages. He would always be by our side.
The Bible teaches us that the reality of this world is we are going to have trials:
I Peter 4:12;
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Matthew 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
It’s unrealistic to think we won’t face difficulties. That kind of thinking sets us up for defeat. But amid our trials we are assured God is a God of mercy and comfort.
Each morning I get up, shave, shower, and dress. I study my Bible and pray. If I don’t have some meeting or appointment to attend, I make my way to the office. There I study, interact with the staff or church members, and I do work related to managing the church. Sometime around noon or one o’clock I’ll go to lunch. Then I return to my work at the office or make a visit. Sometimes I’m on the phone or writing a letter or note. Like yours, my day is full and sometimes gone before I know it. At home, Carol’s dog Lucy has had an altogether different day.
Lucy gets up when she wants. She eats when she wants. She unrolls the toilet paper roll and scatters it throughout the house as she wants. When she wants to sleep, she jumps on the couch on her cushion and sacks out if she wants. Do I sound resentful?
There are times when I wish I could trade places with Lucy, but I can’t. I’m human. I didn’t ask to be human. I just am. My humanity dictates who I am and what I do. That’s just who I am.
So, it is with God. He can’t be anything other than what he is. He cannot be malicious, destructive, mean, or wrong. No matter the tragedy or trial that enters our life God can’t be anything but good, wise, loving, concerned, powerful, merciful, or comforting. Even when we can’t see Him, He is with us.
We must not listen to the enemy that wants to destroy our faith and cause us to question the compassion and comfort of God. He cannot be anything but present and loving toward us during our trial.
Come as you are when you need comfort because God is a God of comfort.
Come as you are when you need comfort because we comfort others.
II. WE COMFORT OTHERS (2 COR. 1:4-7)
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. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
In v. 4-5, Paul is referring to his own suffering. Paul certainly was a suffering man. He was stoned, jailed, beaten with rods across the back so many times he had forgotten the number of strips, betrayed, shipwrecked, lonely, and much more. He lived with a death sentence perpetually hanging over his head. But in all his afflictions he found the comfort of God.
The outcome was he was able to comfort those who were in any affliction with the comfort he had received from God.
How did he do that? No doubt his persevering example was helpful as well as his wise counsel. But we’re not Paul. How can we be of comfort to the hurting? I suggest two actions. First, point the hurting to Christ. You see that in v. 5. The “sufferings of Christ” refer to persecutions because of his service to Christ. When that occurred he also received the comfort of Christ. The comfort that Paul received, and he passes on was centered in Christ. Your prayers for them that ask Christ to comfort them mean so much. Maybe a passage of scripture or some other writing like the poem from Bonhoeffer would be helpful. But you help people find comfort when you point them to Christ.
But another way to extend comfort is seen in Christ’s actions. Christ was present with us in our world. What do you do when you don’t know what to do for someone that is hurting? Just be with them. Christ came to be with us. God has promised to be with us and not forsake us. When people are hurting our phone call or visit or engaging them in conversation does more good than we imagine.
I’ll never forget Cliff Roberts for the comfort he gave me by his ministry of presence. Our son had died. He came to visit at the hospital. I really don’t remember speaking to Cliff. I left to make funeral arrangements and when I came back he was still quietly sitting in the room as people came and went. That still touches me today.
Paul goes on to say in v. 6-7:
6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
Paul saw both his afflictions and his experience of God’s comfort as contributing to the Corinthians comfort. It produces in them endurance. This word is used in the Old Testament (LXX) to describe a desire that outlasts the trial. This endurance is not because the person is extraordinarily brave or strong. If a person endures without growing weary or despondent or weakening in their faith it is because of God’s gracious empowering.
Despite the many ways they disappointed Paul, he still has hope they will eventually experience the fullness of Christ. If they partake in the sufferings associated in serving Christ, they will also share in the comfort of Christ. Hold on, the cavalry is coming.
Maybe you’ve heard of the letters of Mother Teresa that were revealed after her death. She had asked that they be destroyed. The letters revealed that she carried a secret pain. At the beginning she had this wonderful fellowship with God’s presence. And then it left her. She asked, Where is my faith? When she prayed she no longer felt communion with God. On the outside she worked, served, and smiled. But it was a mask to the inner darkness and dryness and pain in her absence of God’s presence.
She chose to not reject God. A spiritual counselor told her three things that sustained her: (1) there was no human remedy for this darkness. She should not feel responsible for it. (2) the “feeling” of the presence of Jesus was not the only or even the primary evidence of his presence. In fact, the very craving for God was evidence that Jesus was present. (3) the pain she was going through could be redemptive. It could be turned for good, and it was. Some have said that these letters are Mother Teresa’s last gift to the world.
The movie Shadowlands is about the Christian writer and apologist, C.S. Lewis. He was one of the most influential Christians of the 20th century. The opening scene of the movie is Lewis giving a lecture on pain and suffering. It is his typical brilliance. Then the movie goes into his life of marrying an American divorcee and being very much in love. She is stricken with cancer and dies and he is devastated by the grief. The movie closes with him giving this same lecture, but it is different this time. There is a comfort in his voice that comes across and comforts those who hear him. He was comforted so he could comfort others.
This sets us up for the basic question every person must face when they experience the hard times in life: will I trust God with my pain and fear or will I turn away from Him in bitterness and anger?
Come as you are when you need comfort because God is a God of comfort.
Come as you are when you need comfort because we comfort others.
Come as you are when you need comfort because we trust God.
III. TRUST GOD (2 COR. 1:8-11)
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
We’re not told what specific trial Paul endured. The best scholarship believes that it is some incident that is not recorded for us in the N.T. We know that he suffered more than what is recorded in book of Acts.
But the incident is not what is important. The theology of the incident is what is most important. He wants them to know what his suffering has taught him about God and increase their thanksgiving to God.
Aren’t you amazed that it is the apostle Paul saying that he even despaired of life? We tend to think Paul as super Christian and bullets of despair and discouragement just bounce of his chest. Apparently, Paul experienced such difficulty that he had no more strength in himself. If God hadn’t come through for Paul, his faith would have been crushed.
According to v. 9, he thought he was going to die. He didn’t see anyway out. But God’s purpose was not to kill Paul. God’s purpose was to teach Paul not to rely upon himself but to rely on the God who raises the dead.
According to v. 10, our hope is sure because of what has happened in the past and what will happen in the future. Paul’s certain confidence in the present is based on his deliverance in the past and that Christ’s resurrection makes certain we will know a final deliverance from trials.
In v. 11, Paul ends as he began with thanksgiving and praise to God. As others join in praying for Paul they too will praise God. The goal of Paul’s life, whether blessed or burdened, was to bring thanksgiving and praise to God. This is the reversal of our greatest sins: self-dependence and self-glorification. Nearly all our troubles can be traced to one of these two sins. God is good enough and powerful enough to use the hardships of this world to separate from us that which is most corrosive to our best selves.
In the first week of my first pastorate a mother came to talk with me about her 14-year-old daughter who ran away to be with a young man. She asked for my advice. I had been a youth minister for a year and a half. Somehow that made me an expert. My first funeral was for a member whose aunt died, and the member described the aunt’s behavior and said she didn’t believe she was a Christian. When I arrived at the funeral home to conduct the service there were only two people in attendance, the niece and a daughter. The son met us at the graveside. My family cut short a vacation at Ridgecrest in North Carolina to hurry home, so I could perform a funeral for a family that lost a newborn. The oil bust of the early ‘80’s occurred six months after I began pastoring, and several men lost their job. My neighbor across the street was a Methodist. He picked up cans along the highway to make some money. I saw what no job would do to a man. In every pastorate, I could tell similar stories.
Trouble is inevitable. It has spawned the counseling ministry. Therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, support groups dedicate their lives to helping people deal with grief, addictions, abuse, and stress.
There are many solutions offered. You can pop a pill or uncork a bottle or take a vacation to escape. Others turn to more healthy approaches. What’s a Christian to do? Trust God.
Do you remember a time when your child got a sticker or splinter in her finger? At first, they try to pull it out with their fingers or teeth, but they can’t. You notice and offer to dig it out for them. At first, they refuse. They know it is going to hurt if you get a needle and dig in their finger for the splinter.
You ask them to believe that what is painful will relieve their pain and that what looks dangerous is their only safety. You ask them to trust that hurting the finger is the only way to make it stop hurting. It doesn’t make sense, but you are their parent. They know you would not lie to them. You love them and want what’s best. So, against all the evidence, full of emotion, they trust you to do what is best for them.
CONCLUSION
There are traumas and trials in your life in which there is no explanation why they happened. Why didn’t God stop it? Why didn’t God change it? The why question has led humanity to unlock the secrets of the universe. But there are some why questions that will not be answered this side of eternity. In those cases, we don’t look to why but to Who. There we find a God that is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” We can surrender our pain to Him because he can be trusted.
