“Blessed be God, and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, who comforts
us in all our tribulation, 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
Through his many afflictions, the
Apostle Paul had learned the important truth: God can comfort everyone in
everything. God is rich in mercy and
will faithfully comfort us “in all of our
tribulations.” Paul, who wrote more
of the New Testament than any other writer was the only one who used the
expression, “the God of all comfort.” Thomas Moore, an Irish song writer and
poet, in 1816, wrote in his song Come Ye
Disconsolate, “Earth has no sorrows that heaven cannot heal.” The
Apostle Paul went on to say, in the same passage as our scripture reading, that
we are enable to comfort others because
of the difficulties that we may have experienced (vs. 6-7). Because we have been comforted—alleviated of grief—by God we are able
to give that same type of comfort to others.
You may have heard the expression, “Until
you have walked a mile in someone else’s shoes do not judge them.” What this means is you may feel sympathy for
someone—feel sorry for them, but you really do not understand what they are
going through. However, empathy means
that you can identify with and understand someone else’s feeling or difficulties—you
can walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Because of what Christ has done for you,
you have the ability to alleviate the grief of someone else. Even if you do not think that you know the
right words to express to someone who is going through difficulties, remember that
the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. He
will guide you as you prayerfully rely upon Him. What comfort that you have received, give
lovingly to someone else. There is
nothing in God’s economy that will not increase when it is shared or given
away. Many times you will find that your
own sorrow will melt as you minister to someone else in her or his need. Our hearts are made sensitive to others by
the trials and difficulties that we have gone through ourselves.
Prayer—God
of all comfort, comfort me still with Your healing balm, and help me to learn
to be gentle with my touch as Your are with Yours, in Jesus Name. Amen.
