2 Cor. 1:1-9
Paul blessed God, the Father of all mercies and comfort. Why? Because God transforms suffering and affliction into a positive thing. He comforts us in our affliction so that we in turn can comfort others, He makes us a vessel of comfort because of what we have experienced. Without the dark, do we appreciate and value the light? No, we need the suffering to see and experience the deliverance.
If we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings then we share abundantly in His comfort. And His comfort far exceeds the suffering. During those dark times, our cries to God are intense. The positive and good times do not normally see this kind of desire, this intense need for God and His deliverance. For humans, it seems to take the negative to drive us to the source of our strength and comfort, to make us connect with God like we should everyday.
Paul himself was afflicted severely. He said that they were burdened beyond their strength to the point that they despaired of life. They felt that it was a sentence of death. But he realized it was to make them rely not on themselves but on God who raises from the dead, They relied on the ultimate power and strength of God, and it was on God that he set his hope. However, such hope does not negate prayer. We need to pray for one another in our afflictions that we would be strengthened and cry out and rely on God. Hope and pray!
Father,
Such a valuable lesson! Thank You for the comfort and the affliction. Thank You for being there always to meet my need, to strengthen me, and to comfort me.
In Jesus name,
Amen
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