2 Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
We in the West love our comforts. Every seat needs to be cushioned. No bored moments. Pills to take away any anxiety or pain. Various diets to correct discomforts. Mr Pillow. Mr Mattress. Mr Vacuum. AC. Central heat. Heated car seats. The list could go on endlessly.
But there are things in life for which there is no earthly solution. The death of a loved one. A house fire. A war. An earthquake. A hurricane. A tornado. Some events don’t have any ‘return’ path. Things will never be the same again.
It is these times when comfort from another source must be found. But there is a time when comfort from another source is even more needed.
Paul writes about those times when comfort is especially needed. Both he and his readers have been through persecution. This has changed their perspective on all of life’s events. Persecution for their faith brought a new focus to their relationships.
God brings the only comfort that satisfies in these times. And often that comfort comes through other people. But it comes in a way that most of us don’t understand.
People generally try to solve the problem when people are in very difficult times. But when there is persecution, there is no problem to solve! Persecution is part and parcel of the life of Jesus’ followers. Take a look around the world. Where persecution is the greatest, the church is experiencing genuine growth.
Persecution is not a problem! But there is a comfort that the LORD provides that is of a different quality, a different nature when we join with others in their persecution. And this is exactly what has happened for the church at Corinth. Paul had been persecuted, and now they were in a like manner being persecuted.
This comradery is what soldiers feel when they have been through battle together. They will often say that then only people who really understand them are others who have also been through combat. It is the common experience of hardship that forges a bond that transcends all other barriers.
And when it is persecution, the Holy Spirit creates a bond, not only on the human level, but His comfort creates a bond that includes our connection to Him. We get connected in new ways and at new depths that we didn’t think were even possible.
In a few more verses Paul writes that the pressure he felt was so great, that he doubted if he was going to be able to continue to stand up under it. Now that is some pressure. Knee buckling kind of pressure. Have you ever felt that kind of pressure?
Paul even says that he “despaired of life itself.” Now that is a statement that we often don’t think Christians should ever utter, and yet, here is Paul the Apostle and the others included in the “we” of this passage, experiencing this very feeling. They felt like they had received a death sentence. Life was over. The End.
But God came through for them! They were ‘raised from the dead’ so to speak. Now that is a new kind of comfort! Having made it through such a near death experience in the face of persecution bought Paul a lesson that he could have never received through any other means.
Soldiers speak of this kind of experience when they are overrun by enemy forces, and somehow they survive. It often brings them into a new appreciation for life itself, a new direction, a new drive. I wonder if we need persecution here in the West in order to get this kind of heart change?
The Arnold Journey 