August 26

Comfort Received, Comfort Given 

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalms 93:1-5;  Job 20:1 – 22:23;  2 Corinthians 1:1-11;  Proverbs 22:2-4

Today’s Scripture Focus: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, [4] who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. [5] For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows (2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV).

God reveals himself through his names. It is good to meditate on them to find a fresh revelation of the truths they contain. Think on these: “God is the Father of compassion,” He is “the God of all comfort.” It is good to allow those truths to sink deeply into our hearts. While life can be difficult and there is more than enough suffering for all of us, he is the Father of compassion and the God of all Comfort who comforts us in all our troubles. That is good news.

In our readings in Job, we see a man struggling to understand the sufferings he is going through. The answers seem hard to come by, especially with the “many words” of his “miserable comforters” who do not understand a thing about his situation. But in the text here in 2 Corinthians 1, we learn something about the mysteries of the ways of our God of compassion and comfort.

Even our suffering is not lost on God. As we draw to him through the trial, he gives comfort and grace and peace. He even gives us joy to strengthen us as we walk through the circumstances we cannot understand.

The comfort God gives is meant to overflow. He comforts us not only that our need is met, but also so that we have comfort to give away to someone else in need. As he fills you with his comfort, you become one he can use to comfort others.

Our God of comfort beckons us to cry out to him in the midst of troubles that we might be aware of his comforting presence. Our Father of Compassion holds out his arms ready to embrace us and uphold us without regard to where we have been or how we have failed. It is good to have a friend in Jesus who joins us in our times of suffering. The Holy Spirit, the comforter, is also there pouring out his love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5). Yet even with all of that comfort, God also knows that we sometimes need the physical presence of a shoulder to cry on, someone to encourage. That’s where you and I come in. The wounded healers who have found comfort and healing in the arms of our loving Father, allow the comfort of Christ to overflow through them to bring healing to others.

Receive His comfort today; allow it to overflow and bring comfort to others. It’s one of the ways he “works all things together for good.”

God of Comfort and Compassion, thank you for being with me through times of trial. Help me to pass on the comfort and compassion I received to others who are struggling to find hope in the midst of their problems. Give me eyes to see those who are struggling and the compassion to be of help. Amen.