[2Co 1:3-4 ESV] 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
It is a wonderful realization that God, our Heavenly Father, does not leave us alone to fend for ourselves. He comforts us in "all our afflictions." The Greek word here for affliction is very broad and takes in every possible torment the enemy could throw in our path. Verse 4 here makes it clear that it is God who actually comes alongside us in our tribulation, torment or persecution and comforts us. It is a good thing to comfort people who are suffering, yet, no one can comfort the soul of the follower of Jesus like Jesus Himself! When someone comforts you, their act of kindness says, "I recognize your burden, I care about you and I want to help you though this difficult time." The Lord is the "God of all comfort!" He alone has the remedy of all our discomfort! No matter the wound, He has the balm of Gilead! He can comfort us in all our afflictions. The Word doesn't say that His comfort always removes us from the trial or the trial from us. He comforts us in our trial. Here marks the difference between the novice and the veteran soldier of the cross. The novice is immobilized by the pain of the attack. He says that when this pain is over, I will serve the Lord again. The veteran of the Lord's army presses through hardship faithfully seeing in the future, by faith, the victory that is assured for the one who overcomes. As Jesus as our example, "He endured the cross, despising the shame, for the joy that was set before Him! How can we who are suffering such anguish continue to serve the Lord and His Church? Because the one who comforts does so with ALL COMFORT! There is a learning curve to receiving comfort from the Lord. The is an important lesson to learn. King David learned to receive from the Lord as he was able to "encourage himself in the Lord."(1 Sam. 30:6). He learned to go to the One who had all comfort.
Now, we come to a critical step in walking in the Lordship of Jesus. We must get to a place in Christ where we move from a "me" perspective to "others." Most people are happy to stop at being comforted. That is really very normal. Just stop the pain and I'm fine! But this verse tells us that God's heart is that we receive comfort for two reasons. First, we are comforted because God loves us and wants to comfort us. Then, the mature realizes that receiving comfort equips and empowers us to share that comfort with others who are suffering. Like an injured soldier in a field hospital in a time of war, they want to get back in the battle. The immature soldier wants to use the wound to go home. The veteran warrior wants to get back to his fellow soldiers in arms. Today, receive the comfort of Jesus as He gives it freely. Then, be aware that your gift of comfort is bigger than your need. It is the gift of ALL comfort. There is enough to share! The Lord always gives us more than we need. He opens the windows of heaven and pours out blessings that we can't contain. It is exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think! He always gives enough for us and enough to share with others.
