What's a little rain?
Paul endured more suffering and hardships than most of us will ever have to endure. He knew how to get through those times - He relied completely on the Lord Jesus who never failed to provide comfort in all his troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-11
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
As Paul attempted to encourage the Corinthian believers who were surrounded with all kinds of evil, he reminded them of the comfort he always found by trusting Christ to bring him through any struggle. In fact, he recognized that the very struggles he endured through the strength and power of Christ, those same struggles provided a means for him to encourage and comfort others who were dealing with the same difficulties. "we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
Too many times, we blame God for our struggles which is exactly Satan's scheme - he causes all kins of chaos in our lives to pull us away from the ONE who can get us through anything. Our battle is not against God. It is against the Enemy. Remember the struggles and suffering Job endured? Those things were from Satan - not from God. Yes, God allowed the suffering, but don't miss this important thing. He trusted Job to stay faithful. Maybe He trusts you to stand firm in the struggles He allows in your life. Job was a powerful witness for God and we can be too, when we face struggles by putting all our trust in Him.
Although I don't believe God causes our suffering, I do believe that God sometimes allows suffering in our lives to continue in order to strengthen our dependence on Him. Suffering can also increase our ability to have compassion and mercy towards others who are enduring the same type of struggle.
But why wouldn't He in His omnipotence just remove every one's suffering? He is showing us how to love one another and nothing draws people together better than difficult times. When our friends or family hurt, we draw near to offer our help. The person who is suffering feels loved and comforted. Relationships are created out of the struggles. And every time we rely of Jesus to carry us through the struggles, every time we turn to Him for comfort and strength to handle the circumstance, someone is watching and learning about the amazing comfort found in Christ.
The NLT translation living bible note on this passage is very good:
"Many think that when God comforts us, our troubles should go away. But if that were always so, people would turn to God only out of a desire to be relieved of pain and not out of love for Him. We must understand that being "comforted" can also mean receiving strength, encouragement, and hope to deal with our troubles. The more we suffer, the more comfort God gives us. If you are feeling overwhelmed, allow God to comfort you. Remember that every trial you endure will help you comfort other people who are suffering similar troubles."
God created us for relationship - with HIM and with others. The greatest command is to Love the Lord with all our hearts, minds and souls. The second - to loves others as we love ourselves. Unfortunately, we humans don't always find it easy to love like Jesus loves - unconditionally. But what I've experienced is that when someone is struggling with the same struggles I have faced in life, I'm drawn to them. I want them to know there is hope in Christ. A kinship is formed because I understand their pain and struggle. I want to comfort them as I have been comforted by Christ. An amazing thing begins to happen. I begin to love that person and care about what happens to them.
So the very struggle that I endured has become a platform to help me reach out in love to others.
Paul's struggles were much more noble than mine. His were struggles were because of his testimony for Christ. Some have struggles because of illness and things out of their control. My struggles have been against my own human nature. But I see how God in His gracious kindness has used my darkest moments to draw me to Himself and others.
http://youtu.be/kseRKxkq5iY - Bring the Rain - Mercy Me
I couldn't help but notice the last portion of this passage:
10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
When we see someone suffering we can offer comfort and encouragement because we, too, have endured suffering and received comfort from Christ. But look at what else we can do. We can pray!
Paul said that our prayers for others actually helps them. And God answers prayer.
Instead of fighting and complaining about our difficult circumstances, maybe we can learn to trust God to strengthen us through the circumstance. Maybe our struggles are blessings in disguise.
I love the words of this song -
"Bring me joy, bring me peace,
bring the chance to be free, b
ring me anything that brings You glory.
And I know they'll be days
when this life brings me pain,
but if that's what it takes to praise You,
Jesus, bring the rain!"
It's not about me.
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