Comforted to Comfort

Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

Too often we overlook the relationship between God’s work and our work. In this passage, Paul says that he and others had been comforted by God in all of their affliction. As a result, they were then specially equipped to comfort others. First, it is a mistake to think Paul is saying that the only reason they were comforted was so that they could comfort others. God comforted them because that is what they needed in their affliction. It was a training ground for future ministry, but it was also a genuine experience of God’s loving care for them.

I also think it is a mistake to think that Paul is saying that the comfort of God he received was apart from human instruments of comfort. God could have met that need without using people to be mediators of His comfort, but I don’t think that is what Paul is suggesting. Later, in 2 Timothy, Paul asks Timothy and Mark to come to him in Rome where he is facing execution. He saw them as the means through which God would minister to him in his hour of trial. It isn’t any different here.

Here is the point…When we see someone in need and we think to ourselves that God will meet their need, we are right. We would also be right to realize that we might be the means through which God will meet that need. And if we have experience in what that person needs, it might be that God has equipped us in a special way to meet the need. Therefore, as important as it is that we pray for that person, it is equally important that we mediate the resources that God has entrusted us with to help them.

If we have experienced comfort, we are probably uniquely prepared for comfort.

If we have experienced victory over some sin, we have been prepared to help someone else know that same victory.

If we have learned how to be content, we probably can lead someone else to that place of genuine contentment as well.

In whatever ways God has helped you, you can help others.