Sunday sermon: "Comfort in Trouble"

This past Sunday, we were unable to hold services due to a power outage caused by damage from the freak snowstorm that hit the Northeast. I'll continue the study in Romans next Sunday, but today I'm posting some thoughts I shared with our Wednesday night Bible study.

We often ask questions whenever we have to go through trials. We don't like suffering, and we don't understand why we must go through it. The Bible provides us with some insight into that topic, but we aren't always happy with the answers.

In 2 Corinthians 1 Paul deals with finding comfort in suffering. He doesn't go into a treatise on the purpose of trials, or what God accomplishes through our suffering. Instead, he deals with the question of comfort. Perhaps this is really what we seek in most cases; we just want to know that we have someone to turn to in the middle of everything.

The source of comfort is God Himself. The word used in this passage for "comfort" comes from the same root used in naming the Holy Spirit the "Comforter." No human source is adequate to provide comfort in trouble. If we want to comfort others, we need to rely on the strength that comes from God through Jesus.

Paul here doesn't promise us relief from suffering in this world. In fact, he does the opposite. We will experience suffering because we are followers of Jesus. If He was not spared suffering, why should we expect to be? I know some teachers proclaim that we can be free of all problems in this life if we have enough faith, but that doesn't match the teaching of the Bible. It certainly doesn't match what Paul teaches here.

The most fundamental point to remember is that God is in control. He is with us in our trials, and His divine comfort helps us to find our way through. Not only that, but it enables us to share comfort with others going through trials. We are to express the comfort of Jesus to others, so they may experience the comfort of God.

Whatever we experience in this life, we don't experience it alone. God is with us, bringing us comfort in the middle of our trials. As we learn and grow through them, we also become agents of His comfort to others. We may never know why we go through a trial, but we know God is in control, and with that knowledge we can face any storm.