Comfort in Every Sorrow—2 Corinthians 1:3-8

Comfort in Every Sorrow

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

God is in every tomorrow, 

Therefore I live for today, 

Certain of finding at sunrise, 

Guidance and strength for the way;

Power for each moment of weakness,

Hope for each moment of pain, 

Comfort for every sorrow,

Sunshine and joy after rain.

Paul was intimately acquainted with pain and suffering. Here in 2 Corinthians, we gain a clear picture of the intensity of the suffering he endured. He knew suffering that burdened him excessively, beyond his strength. Suffering that made him despair of life (1:8). He shared that he and his companions had been afflicted in every way. Perplexed. Persecuted. Struck down (4:8-9). Beaten. Imprisoned. Lied about. Thought ill of. Distressed (6:4-10). And not just outward affliction, but inner anguish as well (2:4; 6:5). Paul knew what it was to suffer. Near the end of this letter, he gives a lengthy list of the hardships he endured in the ministry of the gospel (11:23-29). But what he also understood was that in every sorrow, every affliction, every despairing moment, the comfort of Christ was there, would be there, to meet him. This is how he opens 2 Corinthians. The one who suffered so abundantly reminds us that for every sorrow, small or overwhelming, the comfort of Christ that is promised to us will not be out matched by our suffering.

 

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 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. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ (1:3-5). 

In Paul’s experiences and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul identifies the source of his and our comfort: the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He describes Him as the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Here we are told that all our comfort originates and is extended to us from our Father. The Sovereign God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, Almighty God, Jehovah Shalom, the Lord of hosts is His children’s personal comforter. Who better to comfort us than the One who knows us intimately and is directing all our paths? He knows exactly the right comfort we need for each experience of sorrow. I can’t help but think also that when Paul calls God the Father of mercies, he has in mind that our God compassionately forbears with us, not only in our weaknesses and sufferings, but in our sinfulness. So even in the sufferings we experience because of our own foolishness and sinfulness, He does not withhold Himself or His comfort from us. When we reap what we have sown, our Father tenderly provides for our comfort in our affliction. The cost of our comfort was the death of His Son, whom He gave up for us so that, with salvation and sonship, we would also experience His comfort, consolation, and encouragement in our sufferings. We can pray along with David Clarkson, “I rest in your mercy. There is no condition so low that mercy cannot reach it, none so bad that mercy cannot better it, none so bitter that mercy cannot sweeten it, none so hopeless that mercy cannot comfort in it” (Into His Presence). His mercy and comfort know no limits, comforting us in all our affliction.  We can rejoice in this. The Father of mercies and God of all comfort has promised to comfort us. We draw near to His throne through Christ with confidence to obtain the mercy and comfort that we need in our suffering. 

God also intends for His comfort to be ministered by us to one another. Notice that Paul uses the phrase “so that” after he told us that God comforts us in all our affliction. God comforts us so that we will comfort one another. Paul states that his own examples of suffering and the comfort he received were for the purpose of comforting the Corinthians in their time of suffering (1:6). God’s comfort enables and equips us to comfort others. When we experience affliction, God is in part equipping us with resources which we will be able to use in order to minister to others. He does the same for us through the empathy of other believers who have suffered and have shared their comfort, their understanding, their ministering hands to us in our affliction. Comfort received should lead to comfort given. God uses the hardships of life to soften our souls. He uses adversity to produce tenderness, compassion, perseverance, and understanding into our lives. “The reason we are led into trouble and out again is not merely that we may value happiness the more from having lost it once and found it again, but that we may know something which we could not know except by that teaching, that we may bear upon our nature some impress which could not have been stamped except on natures just so softened to receive it” (Phillips Brooks). Through affliction, God stamps our softened soul with the impress of His character, His mercy, and His comfort. He then uses those things to minister comfort and help through us to our brothers and sisters in Christ, which Paul says leads to their patient endurance in affliction (1:7). When we, as the body of Christ, share the consolation that is ours in Christ with one another, walking alongside one another in suffering, we help one another persevere. This too is joy: lifting up the weary arms of our brethren, as Aaron and Hur did for Moses, and strengthening their souls with the comfort of Christ.  

We can have courage and confidence when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, because our Shepherd is there with us comforting us (Psalm 23:4). We do not need to worry that our suffering will outweigh our comfort. Our suffering can never exceed our comfort. At times, our suffering will be abundant. Paul knew this. He had suffered tremendously. Yet, in his abundant suffering, he found the comfort and mercy of God to be abundant as well. To whatever degree we suffer, God’s comfort will overflow to us. “The greater the suffering, the greater the comfort and the greater the ability to share with others the divine sympathy” (Verbrugge&Harris). Our suffering does not get the last word. Like Paul, we can rejoice in tribulation knowing we will experience a greater taste of the tenderness of God as He comforts us and walks alongside us. We can rejoice as we then come alongside another and help bear their load. His Word is true. He comforts in every sorrow.

Photo credit to andrazlazic