My Dear Shepherds,
I used to blow past the opening paragraphs of 2 Corinthians, assuming they didn’t apply to me since I’d never faced persecution for the gospel.
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. (2 Cor. 1:5)
Then I noticed that in the preceding verse Paul said that God “comforts us in all our troubles” and “in any trouble.” All our hurts can be reclaimed from the dumpster of uselessness and repurposed for the blessed fellowship of “the sufferings of Christ” and “the power of his resurrection.”
From our first Christ-following steps, every Christian has a cross on their back. Jesus is certain to lead us into relationships and circumstances where he wants to work. Wonders happen but resistance is inevitable. Once, after a painful confrontation, I shouted at Jesus, “Where were you!?” And he whispered as clear as could be, “I was right beside you the whole time.”
Any kind of suffering we face—illness, defiant kids, financial woes—now have a discipleship function. They school us in trust and obedience. Even Jesus “learned obedience from what he suffered” (Heb. 5:8). But hardships must be met with the difficult prayer, “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Shepherds experience hurts and weaknesses other believers don’t. Paul said that he delayed a visit to the Corinthians so “I would not be distressed by those who should have made me rejoice.” Perhaps you’ve met their descendants. He also spoke for us when he said, “Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”
I know ministry brings great joys and deep satisfaction. But no one can love with the extravagant grace and selfless mercy of Christ without getting hurt. No one can lay bare sin and folly without painful pushback. No one can lay siege to the gates of hell without fierce combat against the devil’s schemes.
But “so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” This epistle schools us in acquiring the comfort of God. Here are three pathways to God’s comfort:
To begin with, rely on God’s sovereign care. Paul said, “this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead” (v. 9). Reliance and hope are discipleship choices. Sometimes we must exercise faith without feelings or signals of certainty or victory. The fog and bog of depression, discouragement, doubts, or deep weariness are the very ground where God’s comfort meets us. I’ve heard it said, “Never doubt in the darkness what you knew to be true in the light.”
Another help in trouble: forgiveness, “in order that Satan might not outwit us” (2:11). The people we serve aren’t always loving. A few are ruthless. Some pastors stymie God’s comfort by retreating into bitterness or apathy. Jesus grieves over our unloving people too. But lest “Satan outwit us” with his schemes, forgiveness draws us up into God’s grace and encouragement. Could fellowship with Jesus be any more certain than when we are forgiving others for his sake?
The suffering we must endure is met by God’s sufficient grace. Not all suffering comes from the hard knocks of ministry. Some come as our own “thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan.” God’s comfort did not come from the healing Paul sought but from God’s assurance, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” God’s comfort is in knowing his purpose and resting in his grace.
Be ye glad!
