“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3,4)God loves to comfort people in their troubles and desires for those comforted ones to turn around and comfort others. Ideally, this would create a chain reaction of benevolence and love in our world that could transform any society. Too often when we feel pain and sorrow, we cannot help but to focus in on ourselves and our problem. Instead, we should first look to God who identifies himself as the “God of all comfort” and secondly look for opportunities to share God’s comfort and love with those in need.No one, including people of faith, is exempt from experiencing hardship. Trials make the glue that keeps humanity united. Trials allow Christians the opportunity to relate to people of various backgrounds and religious convictions. In fact, if we “had it all together” and never suffered, we would be irrelevant to a lost and dying world around us. Jesus himself is able to help us in our temptations because He himself first experienced temptation, yet was without sin. (Hebrews 2:18, 4:15) Christians are called to spread the love of God indiscriminately throughout the whole world, but also to look specifically for opportunities to help those who are suffering in ways we too have experienced. Often times, God will allow us to meet people who have either gone through a similar tragedy that we now face or are going through one that we’ve already experienced. In these times we are to make the most of every opportunity by receiving and sharing the comfort of God through the care of another person. Christian Growth Network
