Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, and Timothy [our] brother, To the church of God
which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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
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. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation
also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, [it is] for
your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the
same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, [it is]
for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you [is]
steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the
sufferings, so also [you will partake] of the consolation. For we do
not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to
us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so
that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in
ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who
raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does
deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver [us], you
also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by
many persons on our behalf for the gift [granted] to us through many.
2 Corinthians 1:1-11 NKJV
Have you ever had the thought that life can get pretty tough at
times? Of course you have, just like I and everyone else who lives
on this earth could say. When I think of this, my thoughts go back
to Adam and Eve in the garden and just what life was like before the
introduction of sin into this world. Can you even imagine a life
with no worry? No concerns or thoughts about providing for yourself
or family, knowing your every need was already taken care of by a
loving God? Living every day with the knowledge that nothing bad
could happen to you because evil doesn't exist?
I'll be honest with you, even though I can paint that picture in my
head I simply cannot imagine what it would feel like because I have
never experienced the reality of living in a world without sin. I
think that might have been the greatest source of regret for Adam and
Eve in that they had to spend the rest of their lives after the fall
with the memory of what life had been like before. They experienced
the life we can only dream about, and look forward to when we get to
Heaven.
Yet we are not condemned to live in this sinful world without the
help we need. In this passage to the Corinthians, Paul explains that
although we will suffer, our loving Father has provided the resources
we need to endure. Today I want to look briefly at four phrases in
this passage that stood out to me when I read them, and possibly
provide you with some comfort in these times we all find ourselves
in.
Grace and peace. What
exactly is God's grace? In the Greek, the word for grace is charis,
which
is translated “that
which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness”.
What
does that mean to you and me? To me it seems like God's grace is His
way of telling us that although we may not be living in the garden
like Adam and Eve, that same understanding that they had knowing that
God would would take care of them and provide for them is available
to us. As a result, we can live in peace, which translated from the
Greek means “tranquility”, or simply fearing nothing.
Affliction and comfort. Now
who among us really wants to be “afflicted”? Seriously, I think
we all yearn to experience a life where absolutely nothing ever goes
wrong. Yet because we live in a fallen world where evil exists, bad
things are going to happen. Here Paul tells us that although we will
be afflicted, our God is a God of “comfort”. One of the
interesting things about the word comfort in the Greek is that as
well as meaning to “encourage and strengthen”, it also means “to
summon to one's side”. Many of us can remember running to one or
both of our parents for comfort when we were small and this is what
Paul is telling us here. Although we will experience affliction, we
can always run to God's side for the comfort we need to endure.
That we should not trust in
ourselves. Have
you ever thought about how many times in a day you ask yourself the
question, “what am I going to do about this”? If you think about
it, isn't that the way we have all been taught or learned to think?
When a problem comes, figure out the solution yourself. You need to
come up with an answer to life's problems. You need to take charge
of your life and make the hard decisions. Whatever you gain in this
life is a result of your own efforts. Yet Paul makes the point that
we are placed in situations for the purpose of allowing God to
demonstrate He has the power to deliver us from whatever situation we
find ourselves. Our thoughts should never be “what can I do”,
but rather “what will God do”.
So that many will give thanks.
If
you are like me, when I experience situations where problems come and
life gets complicated and troubling, sad to say quite often the last
thing I think about is how can God use my situation to encourage
others. It's almost as if we look at what life throws at us as a
personal challenge that we need to work to overcome by our own
efforts and probably never give a thought to how it could benefit the
body. Yet also like me, I'm sure you can think of an example of how
God has worked out a problem in another's life and thanked Him
for His provision. Seeing God provide for His children is an
encouragement for the body as a whole, not just the recipient of
God's grace.
Why
am I here? Have you ever considered the possibility that one of the reasons we are here
is for the sole purpose of allowing God to demonstrate His love for us?
To use those who choose to believe to show the world that He exists
and loves His own and will provide for them no matter what? We are
His children, and because of that grace and peace, mercy and comfort,
are available to us in ways we can hardly understand. No matter what
life throws at us, we can rely on our Father to make it right. All
we have to do is ask.
But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
Now this is the confidence that
we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He
hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know
that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
1 John 5:14-15 NKJV
And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19 NKJV
Keep watching.
