‘All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. ‘ 2 Corinthians 1:3-10(NLT)
Several years ago, Jerard and I were unexpectedly invited to relocate to Texas. We were asked to work on staff at a wonderful church who sought to diversify their congregation. The job offer seemingly came out of nowhere. I was particularly resistant seeing that we had been living in Nashville 14 years at the time, and, though life wasn’t perfect, I had no desire to move. As I began to pray about the situation, God clearly said to me “This move is going to cost you in comfort”. Of course I wasn’t too excited to hear that, and I actually didn’t know what it fully meant, but I accepted it none the less. I asked God to let the offer fall apart if it wasn’t from Him. The more I prayed that prayer, the more things came together.
Sure enough when we got there, several unforeseen things emerged that began to challenge us, not only where we worked, but in various areas of our lives that even affected our children. In this new uncharted territory, we found ourselves in “the great unknown where feet may fail”. Indeed our feet were failing, but we trusted that God had a plan. We had no idea what the plan was, but we knew that if He went through the trouble of uprooting our family, surely it was for good reason. As time has progressed, our purpose continues to be clarified and we see God’s hand moving in ways we never dreamed. There is no question in our minds that we are stronger than we were prior to the move.
In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul described a time of discomfort and the challenges he faced in the province of Asia. It had gotten so bad that He said, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die.” It may sound dramatic but if we’re honest, many of us have felt this way at some point or another.
Two things happen when we experience trials. The first thing is we learn to fully rely on God (verse 9). During another time of discomfort in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, Paul asked God to remove a thorn in his flesh and God said no! He told Paul, “My strength is made perfect in your weakness” and insisted that His grace would be enough for him. He had to learn to trust in God’s strength and not his own.
The second thing that happens when we experience trials is that in our discomfort, we gain the ability to comfort others (verse 6). When we suffer, it’s not only about us but it’s about those whom God has placed in our path to comfort and encourage.
If you find yourself in a difficult season, continue to call on the name of the Lord and keep your eyes fixed on Him. When the oceans in your life are rising, know that the pain you are experiencing serves the extraordinary purpose of strengthening you as well as encouraging others. When it’s all said and done, our Father wants us to be strong, mature, complete, and lacking nothing.
from Faith to Faith by Jerard & Jovaun