Comfort

The God of All Comfort
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If 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. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8We 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. 9Indeed, 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. 10He 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, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our[a] behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.


Footnotes:
2 Corinthians 1:11 Many manuscripts your

Have you ever had one of those, "I think God is trying to tell me something"-moments? This passage is one of those. I read it a couple days back and since then it has been a major part of two separate sermons I've listened to while exercising. One interesting thing is that different parts of that passage are standing out to me today than did when I read it originally (a cool aspect of scripture...always something new despite repeated readings!).

You see, at first glance, I was drawn to verses 3 and 4, dealing with all the ways the Lord gives compassion and comfort. But after stewing more, being spoken to through the sermons I mentioned, I am today drawn to verses 5-7:
5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If 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. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
I too often cry out to God to make me feel better, have peace, experience comfort. But why? Usually for selfish reasons, I have realized these past couple days. I just want to feel better. I want to worry less about the unknown. I want folks to not get upset with me for various reasons. I basically want God to slap a band-aid on me. But is there something deeper to the things gnawing at my heart that God will comfort me in? These two verses talk about that purpose. It is so I can empathize (instead of just sympathize) with others going through similar things. It is about the ministry God wants to do through me where I can relate to others, tell of how God got me through, share wisdom, etc. But, I just don't think about it that way enough...

Take right now, for example. The big issue in the Davis household is my wife Missy's struggles to find a full-time teaching gig. She searched so hard a couple years back, decided to just sub, and through that was hired at a local school. But, they didn't renew her contract for whatever reason, and the past year has been spent frantically searching for another full-time teaching job to fill that void, to satisfy Missy's desire to teach, etc. But so far, no dice. And it's getting frustrating. But we need to ask not just, "God, comfort, please!", or, "Hey God, fix this, ok? Thanks," but instead live in the comfort provided by the Comforter AND then seek to minister to others who may be able to relate. In the midst of all this, we also need to re-visit the concept of contentment . As Mark Matlock on a recent post of his said, "When I look back on my life, I can trace my current place in ministry back to specific moments of obedience to live for God in the "now"." This is where I need to live again. Seeking to be faithful to God NOW. Looking for ways I can live in the comfort he promises and minister to those who may benefit from my experiences.