In yesterday’s devotional, we referred to the story of Job as an example from the Old Testament of how one can respond to suffering in a way that glorifies God.
We have another example in the New Testament of how suffering results in God’s glory. In John 9 we have the story of the man who was born blind. The disciples saw this man who had been begging by the gate. They assumed that sin was the cause of his blindness, and so they asked Jesus whether it was the man’s sin or that of his parents. Since the man was born blind, perhaps the disciples were wondering if God had foreseen that the man was going to sin and punished him before he committed it.
Jesus replied in a very profound way. He said that the man’s blindness was not caused by sin, but that the glory of God might be revealed. Jesus then demonstrated how that glory would come, as he proceeded to heal the blind beggar. What the story teaches is that God allowed that man to be born blind, and to live in darkness all his life, in order that on that occasion Jesus might heal him and show the power of God. That is a difficult thing for many people to understand, and yet that is the teaching of the Bible. And as we grow in grace we begin in part to understand—especially as we suffer.
The fourth reason for suffering is what Paul talks about here in our passage from 2 Corinthians 1. Paul says that God allowed him to suffer, and experience the comfort of God in his suffering, in order that he, as a minister of God, might comfort those who are likewise suffering. Have you ever thought about your suffering that way? Until you experience a certain situation you do not know what it feels like to go through it. Perhaps you are afflicted with a serious illness. Have you ever thought that God allows you to have that in order that you might speak a word of comfort to someone else who is going through the same thing? Or you suffer a death in your family. It is a very painful loss, which only people who themselves have experienced it can truly understand. Later, when somebody else suffers from a similar loss, you are able to comfort them by sharing how the Lord comforted you.
That is what Paul is talking about here. Paul’s suffering was so great that he despaired even of life itself (v. 8). Yet as he looks back on that, he knows that God allowed it so that he might be able to comfort the Corinthian believers. He recounts his experience by using a number of words, such as “troubles,” “sufferings,” “hardships,” and even “deadly peril.” But when Paul begins to write about what he endured, he starts with God’s comfort. Notice how many times he talks about comfort. In verses 3 to 7, he uses the word “comfort” nine times. He begins that section: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 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” (vv. 3-4).
This teaches us quite clearly that all comfort is from God. Furthermore, that comfort from Him is for all our troubles. Isn’t that wonderful? There is no trouble you have, nothing you go through, and no distress you experience in which God is not present and able to help by bringing comfort. While it is true in a certain and limited sense that people can offer human comfort to one another, even between unbelievers, real and lasting comfort can only come from the sovereign and all-wise God who gives purpose to our lives and orders all things according to His perfect will. If God is in charge and working in the lives of those who are His people, then there is comfort because whether you understand the suffering or not, it means something. God is doing something in you so that you can be a blessing to others.
