From Comforted to Comforter

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

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.  For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.  Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

Our pastor had started a sermon series on 2 Corinthians just two days after we learned that our baby had died and I would miscarry.  His first sermon only covered the first two verses, but I read ahead while he preached that particular Sunday, desperate for comfort and desperate to make sense of what was happening.  I already knew the "God of All Comfort" passage in a very personal way, so the words were not new or surprising, but my reaction to it was. 

Honestly, I really thought to myself (in a very indignant manner), that I had not signed up for the affliction of miscarriage.  Continuing on this line of self-centered rational, I reasoned that I had already had what I thought to be a pretty comprehensive list of areas in life where God had comforted me, and where I could in turn comfort others.  I was not looking to add this particular affliction to my list.

The week went by and I sat waiting for that peace that passes understanding, clinging to God's sovereignty and praying for mercy for our grieving hearts.  The following Sunday our pastor's next sermon included this text and what a mercy it was for me.  Like sweet spring air after a longer-than- normal winter, these words from Paul were a gentle comfort, a timely rebuke, and a purposeful exhortation. 

During the sermon I was reminded that God is calling me to embrace suffering and to see it as a delivery system to bring the gospel.  Through suffering I have had many opportunities to show our children God's redemptive love and His sufficiency for us in all things!  I was challenged to see that Paul urged us to look at suffering as something to steward.  Pastor Meyer said that "to be comforted was to be commissioned."  Truly, I know that I have been comforted, not in afflictions of my choosing, but in afflictions ordained by God so that I may glorify Him and spread a passion for His glory.  "God's comfort doesn't make us comfortable, it makes us comforters." (Jason Meyer)  Understanding this helped me see what I was really waiting for - not a comfortable conclusion to our grief, but a purposeful conclusion of this commissioning through comfort.

It was a new thought to me to consider how God had comforted me in our recent loss so that I could be comissioned as a comforter through the grace that He provides.  To read or listen to the full sermon you can find it at Hope in God, click on Sermons, and search for April 11, The God of All Comfort, or just click on the sermon title and it will link you to the text and audio.  I highly recommend it if you are sensing the need to see purpose in your affliction and receive the commissioning of comfort.

Equally challenging was the following Sunday School hour where, together with our teenagers, we wrestled through considering what role our Sovereign God has in bringing offenses into our lives.  We attend a Sunday School class for high schoolers and their parents, and it is always good to work through the Word together with our kids.  Earlier in the week a friend had prayed Isaiah 30:26 over us, that God would "bind up our brokenness and heal the wounds inflicted by his blow."  Yes, He had sovereignly ordained and allowed such brokenness and grief, and He is altogether sufficient to heal those wounds, and bind up our brokenness, making beautiful things out of our pain.

As I reflect on the Word, the messages of our pastor and Sunday School teacher, and the great grace of our Lord, I am encouraged to know that I have been summoned to steward our suffering and commissioned to bring comfort.