August 26 - 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 - Suffering That Means Something

Some things in life just don’t make sense until we stop focusing on ourselves. Work becomes a privilege once I understand the value of service. Marriage goes deeper when my spouse feels utterly cherished. Perhaps the hardest thing in life to make sense of is suffering. The existence of pain and suffering is one of the main reasons atheists do not believe there is a god. Would a god who had the power and means to prevent such pain allow such pain? This is incredible to them. Even many believers have their greatest struggles with faith when in the throes of suffering.

It would be easy to move into a discussion on the problem of evil at this point, but I would rather stick close to today’s reading. Maybe you could call me, email me, or Facebook me if you want to go down that road with me. So, rather than justify evil’s existence with its concomitant suffering, let’s talk about how that suffering becomes meaningful.

Paul tells us that we have a God who both suffers and comforts. This is huge! Because in the time of my suffering, I know that my God understands. The gift of the Incarnation becomes more precious at this point. Jesus knows! He’s been there. He has agonized. He has wept. He has bled. Mocked. Scorned. Condemned. Humiliated. There is no pain that He does not empathize with. And there is no suffering that my God does not extend His comfort to.

Paul calls Him, “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” Not ‘compassionate Father,’ but ‘Father of compassion.’ In other words, He is the inventor and source of this thing called compassion. He gave birth to it. Nobody does compassion better than God, because it came out of the core of His being. And He created it transferable. We can comfort others with the comfort we received from God. Even as Jesus identifies with our pain, we can identify with our hurting neighbors and comfort them.

Now suffering begins to mean something. It becomes a means of understanding our smitten and afflicted Savior. It becomes a means of identification with our fellow man. It becomes a means of transfer as God’s comfort TO me flows out FROM me. And it becomes a motivation for intercession. People can be lifted out of their anguish through the favor granted them in answer to our prayers.

Hardships can drag you to the brink. In Paul’s case, he despaired of life; he “felt the sentence of death.” But don’t you love his conviction? God “HAS delivered us … and He WILL deliver us.” That kind of faith doesn’t come from being shielded from pain. That kind of steadfast hope only comes from having suffered and come out the other side -- by the Father’s comfort, the Savior’s sympathy, and the prayers of the saints.

Pray: Father of compassion, thank you for comforting me in all the painful moments of my life. Crucified Christ, thank you for being with me in my suffering; hurting right alongside of me. Spirit of intercession, thank you for helping me take my eyes off myself to turn my heart and prayers toward others. Thank you, Jesus, that because of your suffering there are things I will never have to suffer. You have already borne the pain in my place.