Comforted By 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 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.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 NIV
A dear friend and trusted counselor once told me that sometimes the greatest test comes to us when we ask God the question, “Why?”
As Charles Hembree has pointed out, “In the full face of afflictions it is hard to see any sense to things that befall us, and we want to question the fairness of a faithful God. However, these moments can be the most meaningful of our lives.”
One of God’s great servants, Paul Little, was killed in an automobile accident in 1975. I immediately asked God, “Why?” Paul was one of God’s outstanding young strategists and Bible teachers. He was a theological professor, a leader of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and a former member of our team. I am sure his wife, Marie, must have asked in the agony of her heart, “Why?” And yet, a few months later when she came to our team retreat, she manifested a marvelous spirit as she shared her victory with the wives of our team members. Instead of our comforting her, she was comforting us.
Alexander Nowell once said, “God does not comfort us that we may be comforted but that we may be comforters.” We are to pass along the comfort with which God has comforted us.
Look around you. There are countless opportunities to comfort others, not only in the loss of a loved one, but also in the daily distress that so often creeps into our lives.
When we are a comfort and encouragement to others, we are sometimes surprised at how it comes back to us many times over.
Our Father and our God, comfort me and use me as an instrument of Your comfort to others. I want to be an encouragement and a support to people who need Your presence in times of distress and trial. Give me a tenderness and gentleness. Give me Your words to share with them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).