When we have tribulation in this world we need to be comforted. And Jesus has told us that we are going to have tribulation in this world. (John 16:33) “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
When we are reconciled to God we are put in Jesus. And in Christ, there will be tribulation and trouble in this life. This is what verse five is saying, “the sufferings of Christ abound in us”. Because this is true we need God’s comfort. He is the only one that can give it.
(2 Corinthians 1:3-5) “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; {4} Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. {5} For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”
In this passage, we learn that God’s comfort that He has for us is in His Son, Jesus. The God we worship is the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. This means the Lord Jesus is the only Son of God. This also means that He, God, sent his son not to condemn us but to show us His mercy.
God wanted to show His mercy to us for He is the “Father of mercies”. And because He is the Father of mercies he is also “the God of all comfort”. In God’s plan to reconcile us to Himself, there needs to be someone to pay the penalty for our sins. We know that was Jesus.
How can we have the comfort that comes from the Lord? It comes by faith. We can say it another way; our blessing comes from the Lord only when we trust Him. The comfort that we have in the Lord comes from knowing that He will always do what is best for us and knowing that He has a reason and a plan for our life. We trust God then even if we cannot see His purpose. We must know in our hearts that no matter how bad it seems God is doing it for our good or He is letting it happen for our good.
I had a son who was 29 years old. He was married and had one son and another on the way. He was killed over 20 years ago. I still do not understand why God took him. But I trust God that He did the best thing. This is a comfort for me. This is a great comfort to me. Job was a very rich man and had a big family but lost both his riches and his family in a few days. Then he got sick. What did he do? He worshipped God!
(Job 1:21) “And said, naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
If you study the book of Job, you will see that he did not find out why God allowed him to suffer. What he did find was an all-powerful God. He found the creator God. He found the God that is the sovereign of the universe. All he could say after encountering God was, (Job 42:5-6) “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. {6} Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” In the end, he still trusted God and even more so.
As we suffer sometimes our only comfort is that God is sovereign and has promised this: (Romans 8:28) “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Trusting God is the greatest comfort we can have.
*Devotional written by Ralph Williams, retired pastor and member of One Hope Mobile.
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