God Offers Comfort to All

All of us go through troubles of one sort or another.  Perhaps it’s financial, perhaps health, perhaps it’s a temptation that you struggle with….or perhaps a combination of all of those and many I’ve not mentioned.  We all have things that trouble us, that give us stress, that are not as we had planned.  Often we turn to God and say “why me?”  And this is a valid question to ask of God.  We can be stretched to our limits of what we can withstand and we can be crying out “Why?”, “Please God deliver us from this.”

I think you out to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia.  We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it.  In fact, we expected to die.  But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead.  And he did deliver us from mortal danger.  And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us.   – 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

This passage from 2 Corinthians shows us that God can deliver us from the darkest of circumstances.  He can raise people from the dead so he can surely deliver us from our situation.

When I look back on my life, I see that as troubles come I tend to turn towards God for comfort and deliverance.  I also see that God has seen me through so many things, sometimes in ways I never would have imagined, but were so much better than the path I had laid out.  However what invariably happens, as life gets easier and my troubles are behind me, I begin to rely less and less on God and more on myself and my own plans….and then trouble strikes again and right back I am trusting and relying on God.  However each time we go through trials, I do realize that I am powerless without him and I have a constant need for him in my life, in good times and in troubles.  God is our source of power and we receive his help by staying in contact with him.  In other words I need to learn to rely on Him every day.

So where does the comfort come in?

Comfort for me comes in remembering that God is always with us, God has delivered me from so many things and our God is a God of second, third, fourth, ….. chances.

Comfort comes knowing that the suffering we endure ultimately makes us stronger, perhaps not in ways we expect, but it does.

Comfort comes from knowing that what we go through and how God brings us through it can bring comfort to others that face similar situations.

For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you.  Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.  We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God’s comfort.  – 2 Corinthians 1:6-7

Comfort is knowing, that no matter the situation, God’s plan is mighty, God’s plan is perfect.

While I won’t air out any specifics of my troubles as we all have them, I always appreciate your prayers, as I will be praying for all of you out there.  I’m also not afraid to share my troubles if asked, not to burden others or look for pity, but hopefully to provide comfort to you as you endure your troubles.  So if anyone needs to talk, I’m here to listen and share.