Equipped for Ministry

“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)

 What in your life is training you for God’s purpose? 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 explains how God uses difficult circumstances to equip you to be a blessing for others. As you experience affliction and receive comfort from God, you are uniquely enabled to comfort others in their affliction. 

Facing trials is not easy, even when you understand that God can use it for His purpose. None of us enjoy suffering. But you can find joy in suffering when you understand God’s purpose and design. 

There are few things more fulfilling than when you can speak out of your own experience of suffering to encourage someone who is walking through a similar circumstance. It is almost as if you can see God redeeming that trial and suffering right before your eyes. 

It will remind you that He saw every tear and heard every prayer, even though it might not have seemed like it at the time.

None of your suffering in Christ is ever in vain. He is always working for your good and His glory. Notice in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 that we can comfort others, “with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 

In other words, your suffering uniquely equips you to comfort others with the comfort of God. You can focus not on trial, but on the calming reassurance from “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” As you experience the life-giving comfort of God Himself, you are equipped to share that deep comfort with others. 

You become an ambassador of God’s comfort.

David Powlison, author of Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, said it this way:

“When you’ve passed through your own fiery trials, and found God to be true to what He says, you have real help to offer. You have firsthand experience of both His sustaining grace and His purposeful design. He has kept you through pain; He has reshaped you more into His image…What you are experiencing from God, you can give away in increasing measure to others. You are learning both the tenderness and the clarity necessary to help sanctify another person’s deepest distress.”

In your trial, let the Holy Spirit help you embrace firsthand experience of God’s tenderness. Allow His sustaining grace to carry you in your trial. And know that He is forming you into a vessel of His comfort. 

Prayer: Father, Thank You for the comfort that only You can give. I receive it now and praise You for seeing every tear and hearing every prayer. Help me to comfort others with the comfort I have received from You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.