70) 7 ASPECTS OF GOD'S C O M F O R T TO US.
— 2 Corinthians 1 vs 3 - 11 ---
— Comfort is the strength and encouragement that we receive in our troubled Souls, which results in our joy and peace, that relief from pain that comes through hearing Words of Hope and through the pleasant presence of our relations (2 Corinthians 7 vs 5 - 7).
— Sufferings are like powerful blows to the stomach that seem to knock all the wind of the Holy Spirit to gush out from us. We hold our breath. But what do we do? We need God's Comfort from the Holy Scriptures (Romans 15 vs 4). And we also need the Consolation that comes through our Fellowship with other Grace Believers. Amen (2 Thessalonians 2 vs 16 - 17).
— We are Comforted in afflictions and consoled when our focus, trust and dependence is totally on God and not on ourselves. Remind yourself about the Bloody PRICE that Jesus Christ paid by His cross, which freed us from Sin. And His display of Mighty Resurrection POWER in the tomb, which conquered Death for us. And His Heavenly POSITION that He now holds for us on God's throne, interceding for us. Again, remember His Gracious PROVISION of free Justification and Life which we now have as members of His Body. And His Eternal PRESENCE in us by the Holy Spirit which sealed us for preservation. And His Prudent PLAN to reward our sufferings with His Weighty Glory. Also remember His Infallible PROMISE to give us Glorified Heavenly bodies on Resurrection day. Oh! Blessed be God, to whom be Glory forever. Amen (Romans 8 vs 31 - 34).
1.) THE P R O V I D E R OF ALL COMFORT.
"And the GOD of all comfort"
— 2 Corinthians 1 vs 3 ---
In trouble, RENEW your mind with Scriptures about who God is. Our God is Eternally Blessed and so are we, His Children. Our God is the Father of Glory, Father of Jesus Christ, Father of Mercies and the Father of all Comfort. God's Fatherhood to us and to our Lord Jesus Christ is actually the same. God does not curse us with suffering. Neither is suffering bad luck. God ordains suffering so that we should also experience the tenderness of His Mercies and the efficiency of His Comfort. Since God our Father is the source and provider of all comfort, then our afflictions are actually Blessings in disguise. Do you really know the God of all Comfort? — 2 Corinthians 1 vs 3 ---
2.) THE P A R A M E T E R S OF GOD'S COMFORT.
"Consolation also ABOUNDETH by Christ"
— 2 Corinthians 1 vs 4 - 5 —
In adversity, stand to REASON that there is a beautiful equation between God's Comfort and our Sufferings. Imagine your life to be a pair of weighing scale balances. The amount of suffering that enters on one side of the scale is strikingly equivalent to the amount of comfort that enters on the other side of the scale. So the greater our sufferings for Christ's sake, so also, the greater the Comfort we receive from God. No qualms about enduring much suffering. Notice the ALL and ANY in verses 3 and 4. This also indicates that there is no degree of human suffering that God's Comfort cannot efficiently cover. If you want to know if you are comforted, just look at your suffering side of the scale. Is it full or empty? — 2 Corinthians 1 vs 4 - 5 —
3.) THE P U R P O S E OF GOD'S COMFORT.
"ENDURING of the same sufferings"
— 2 Corinthians 1 vs 6 —
In afflictions, REALIZE what God is presently doing in you now in this Dispensation of Grace. Most ignorant people seek God and arrogantly pray that God should remove their pain and hardships. However, rather than remove the burdens, God instead strengthens the shoulders that bear the burdens according to His Will. This is God's strength for our patient endurance and service in distresses. God does not comfort us in order for us to be Comfortable now. But like a chain reaction, we received God's Comfort so that we should be the cisterns, conveyors and channels of God's Comfort to others who suffer the need of Consolation and Salvation. Our submission to God's purpose in our suffering enables us to patiently endure it. — 2 Corinthians 1 vs 4 —
4.) THE P A R T A K E R S OF GOD'S COMFORT.
"Ye are partakers of the SUFFERING"
— 2 Corinthians 1 vs 7 —
In sorrow, be REASSURED that your suffering for Christ's sake activates God's Comfort also. The Sufferings of Christ are those that we suffer because of our identification with Christ Jesus. This means that only Grace Believers can give God's Comfort. But the sorrow and pain of Grace Rejecters is totally in vain. Because alienation from Christ does not guarantee freedom from sorrow, but it actually cuts them off from the only source of consolation. Those who do not suffer for Christ's sake cannot partake in God's Comfort. You must be crossed in order to be crowned. So, only Grace Ambassadors can communicate God's Comfort. Amen. — 2 Corinthians 1 vs 7 —
5.) THE P O W E R OF GOD'S COMFORT.
"God which RAISETH the dead"
— 2 Corinthians 1 vs 8 - 9 —
In trouble, REMEMBER to trust God alone, principally because of His Resurrection power. Our total reliance on God our Creator begins when our self-reliance first dies. Trust in ourselves is so offensive, disgusting and repugnant to God, so much that He is determined to systematically overthrow and destroy our self-confidence with the instrument of the "sentence of death". The "pressure" and the "despairing of life" works in us, the good purpose of squeezing out every breath of self-reliance, so that we can totally depend on God for everything. Our Self must die for complete Trust in God to begin. We need to know God experientially by His Resurrection power and not just intellectually. This experiential knowledge of God's Resurrection power is God's sufficient, efficient and magnificent Comfort and Consolation to us in any trouble. — 2 Corinthians 1 vs 9 —
6.) THE P R O M I S E OF GOD'S COMFORT.
"He WILL yet deliver us"
— 2 Corinthians 1 vs 10 —
In persecution, REST in God's Victory over Sin, Death, the Devil and the World. Our unique Faith in Christ's past resurrection and our singular Hope in God's infallible Promise to resurrect us bodily in future, is our empowerment and enlightenment. This Trust in God, presently strengthens and encourages us to victoriously overcome our fear of Death now and triumphantly stand against the terrors of the Devil. The hard way, the only way. No matter the name of the pain that we feel, we are peaceful, joyful and more than Conquerors. For we know that this promise of God's Deliverance has already secured our eternal destinies in Christ. This is how God's Comfort and Consolation works. Amen. — 2 Thessalonians 2 vs 16 - 17 ---
7.) THE P A R T I C I P A T I O N IN GOD'S COMFORT.
"Helping together by PRAYER for us"
— 2 Corinthians 1 vs 11 —
In consolation, RESPOND by Prayer for the restoration of the peace and joy in other people. God is the fountain of all Comfort but help also comes from other Believers. Most often, Believers who have obtained God's Mercy and Comfort through Grace are prone to forget so soon, their debt of Thanksgiving to God and their obligation to comfort the afflicted brethren. So, many intercessory prayers help to realign the Grace Believers in the centrality of God's Will. That is, to comfort one another. As many participate by Prayer in the Ministry of Consolation, the abundant sufferings result in our rejoicing and abundant thanksgiving to God also. So, God is greatly Glorified in the Church. Amen. — 2 Corinthians 1 vs 5 - 7 —
In conclusion, we acknowledge that the reason why Mankind suffers is so "that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead" as stated in 2 Corinthians 1 vs 9. Truly, this one verse is a good summary of the whole Bible. To receive God's Comfort and patiently endure suffering, just remember these three virtuous things. Remember WHO God is; – Your SAVIOUR (2 Cor. 1 verse 3.). Again, remember WHAT God has done for you and is doing in you; – Your SALVATION (2 Cor. 1 verse 4.). And lastly, remember WHY God permits suffering; – Your SERVICE (2 Cor. 1 verse 5.). When we integrate this perspective into our being, all our sufferings shall no longer be vain and void of God's Comfort. Blessed be God, for His Comfort to the afflicted. Amen. — 2 Corinthians 1 vs 3 - 5 —
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