“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 receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
Let’s talk for a moment about comfort.
Comfort in this context is paraklesis (Strong’s G3874). Comfort today can take a lot of meanings, so pulling back to the original language can be helpful.
Paraklesis is used 29 times in the New Testament and 11 times in the LXX Greek (Septuagint). Combined there are 40 uses. (It seems interesting that this word is used 40 times combined between NT and LXX Greek. This isn’t too be taken too far, but 40 is often a period of testing in the Bible. For example, Jesus was 40 days in the wilderness. No matter the number of our days in a trial, God’s promise is always there to bring us comfort.)
A lot of the uses of the word are translated as “exhortation.” Often, our words are not always the best means of comfort. For example, Job’s three friends came and sat with him for seven days after Job’s losses. They were silent the whole time (Job 2:13). This verse says that they sat in silence because they saw that he was suffering.
Sometimes the best comfort we can bring someone is to simply be there with them. To be present. (Job’s friends didn’t really get into “trouble” with Job until they started talking. They tried to fit his experience into their logic and that is where it went awry as you read the book of Job. It is a case in point that we should be present with others in their suffering, but at the same time, it may be challenging to put their suffering in our language to “explain” it. Sometimes “less is less” in what we say in regarding the hard times of others.)
Circling back to 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, let’s consider how the God of all comfort can comfort us in all of our troubles.
We looked at the word for comfort. What about the word for “trouble” (thlipsis–Strong’s G2347)? Strong’s describes thlipsis “properly, a pressing, pressing together, pressure.” What a great way to explain trouble–pressure–being pressed together. Getting pinched. In the 7 Crucial Crucibles, I further explain this word as something that cannot separate us from the love of Christ as described by Paul (Romans 8:35).
Comfort seems a little lacking for a word in what I need in times of trouble. What I need is relief if I am being pinched or pressed together. That is often why the words of others cannot initially bring comfort. Why not? Because my own words may not relieve the pressure.
It may just intensify the pain.
But, this is really “phase two” in 2 Cor. 1:3-4 because there is a sequence described. Let's delve a little deeper into that. First, it says the "God of all comfort." I sure can appreciate “God of all comfort.” He has it all covered. Whatever I need–He has the remedy.
And, that comfort, in whatever form is needed fits the bill for the trouble I am having. This is an “All-All” scenario. The God of “ALL COMFORT” comforts me in “ALL TROUBLE.” That is where this has to start.
There is no trouble or pressure I am experiencing in life that God does not have a comfort for. What a statement. Is that really true? Is there nothing I can experience in life that God does not have a comfort for?
That may seem like an audacious statement of Paul in this verse. But, Paul went through it. Read his descriptions of all of the “stuff” he went through in 2 Cor. 11:23-28.
At the same time, suffering can be so relative. What I may consider as “pressure” may not even register for someone else. Trouble is not a thing to compare. Is this sometimes where we go awry? When we try to categorize the pressure someone else is feeling based on how we would feel (the pressure) in the same situation?
So, if comfort doesn't come by comparing, how does it work? It works in the order laid out in 2 Cor. 1:3-4. There is a sequence or a structure.
It goes like this. First, I receive comfort from the God of all comfort in all my troubles. That’s step one. It then goes on to say that I then have something from which to comfort others. What is that? It is the comfort I have received from God.
Let’s look again–v. 4 tells us that “so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
(Can I pause right here and say that one of the main motivators in receiving comfort from God is that there may be someone later who is going to need it. You may "get by" without receiving comfort in your current trouble. But, what if God is allowing your trouble today to create a pool of comfort for someone else tomorrow? Someone that maybe couldn't "get by" like you are able to do today? Repurposing our receiving comfort as it being something to help someone else later can spur us to get all the comfort we can today. Plus, we are better off for it today, regardless of helping anyone else.)
The comfort we first receive becomes the source from which we comfort other people in their trouble. Our comfort (from God) becomes our “comfort bank” from which to withdraw to make a “comfort deposit” to others.
It first comes to me from God. Then, it goes through me to others. If I try and comfort others in my own understanding, it could turn out like Job and his friends which didn't end well. (Job 42:7-9 describes God’s charge against Job’s friends. God wasn’t happy based on what His friends said about Him.)
The Transfusion of Comfort-
We transfer our own comfort to the one who is in trouble. It is a “comfort transfusion.” It is taking the comfort I have received and infusing it into the life of someone else.
In 2 Cor. 1:3-4, Paul doesn’t say “how” God comforts us. Since Paul doesn’t describe it specifically in this text, let's explore potential means of his comfort.
God comforts us in a lot of ways, so the following is not a list to “limit” the comfort of God. Instead, it is a way to put some language to it.
First, God comforts us with HIS PRESENCE. Just being in His presence can alleviate the pressure we feel in so many situations. His presence brings us comfort. It alleviates the pressure we feel when away from Him.
Secondly, God comforts us with HIS POWER. God not only is present, but He is powerful. He wants us to feel His strength as a reminder that His grace is sufficient right here and now.
Third, God comforts us with HIS PURPOSE. Suffering without purpose can cause us to despair. When we suffer without a purpose, it can feel disheartening to say the least. And, the God of all comfort does not want us to be disheartened. Jesus said to his disciples to take heart (John 16:33)
But, it can feel so rough at times that we can feel like “Why are you doing this to me, God?” That is a fair question. And, might I suggest pressing into His presence, experiencing His power, and being open to a revelation of His purpose could all be sources of comfort from Him here and now?
God’s presence, power, and purpose are all personal experiences we can have that bring us comfort. They transform us. And that is the ultimate point of affliction from a biblical standpoint–it is working out in us a far greater weight of glory (2 Cor. 4:17).
As far as transfusing that comfort to someone else, might I suggest that we start with simply being present when someone else is in need of comfort? We don’t have to have all the answers. But, we can simply be present as a place to start.
When we are full of the presence, power, and purpose of God, it creates a reservoir for us to draw from. The Holy Spirit can lead us as we keep in step with Him (Galatians 5:25). God wants to comfort the other person suffering, just as He comforted you. Be a steward of God's comfort. Appreciate it. Embrace it. Own it. Then, learn to be a conduit of God's comfort.
Be a conduit.
We don’t have to have the answers. God does. We are simply to be the conduit of comfort. Allowing God’s presence, power, and purpose to flow through us. It is supernatural. Beyond the natural. Just as God brings us comfort supernaturally, may we take that supernatural comfort to those suffering from trouble in our lives.
To God be the Glory.
Amen.
