(4) Suffering is God’s means of equipping us to minister to others (verses 4, 6). Suffering as a Christian, experiencing the “sufferings of Christ,” is a source of personal blessing and benefit. But it would be wrong for us to view our sufferings in a selfish way. As our Lord’s sufferings were for our benefit and blessing, our sufferings are intended to be a blessing to others. The comfort which we should experience, the comfort which the “Father of mercies” bestows upon us, is not something we are to hoard but something we are to share. Paul assumes that Christians will all share in the sufferings of Christ (see 2 Timothy 3:12). When we experience Christ’s sufferings and share in God’s comfort, we are being equipped to minister to others who will experience similar afflictions:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 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. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. 6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer (2 Corinthians 1:3-6).
Paul says it as clearly as it can be said. His sufferings are intended for the Corinthians’ comfort. Paul’s comfort (in suffering) is for their comfort. The price Paul and his colleagues (Silvanus and Timothy—1:19) pay, as well as the comfort they receive, are for the benefit and blessing of the Corinthians. Suffering for Christ’s sake is sure to bring us comfort from the heavenly Father. This comfort is given from our heavenly Father so that we might share it with others who will endure similar suffering.
If we fail in our suffering, doubting God’s goodness and questioning His infinite wisdom and mercy, then we shall also fail to experience the comfort God has for us. And if we fail to experience God’s comfort, we deprive others of the comfort they should receive through us. This, I believe, is what Asaph is saying when he writes these words: “If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ Behold, I should have betrayed the generation of Thy children” (Psalm 73:15).
For Asaph to turn away from God would betray those who might follow his example. Just as we may bless others by sharing our comfort with them, so we may harm our brothers by failing to accept God’s hand in our lives and thus fail to gain the comfort He has for us.
A further word must be said concerning the blessing we may be to others by suffering well. I do not understand Paul to say we must suffer exactly the way others suffer in order to share our comfort with them. Joni Eareckson Tada suffered spinal damage from a diving accident a number of years ago. She experienced then, and continues to experience, the mercies and comfort of God and shares her joy with many. Her response to the affliction God brought into her life comforts me even though I have never spent one day in a wheelchair. In fact, I am ashamed whenever I feel sorry for myself and my petty sufferings when I consider the trials Joni, and others, face daily.
Beyond this, I believe those who suffer well bless us even more broadly. In preaching through the Psalms years ago, I noted that some of the most insightful commentators on the Psalms were men who had suffered in German concentration camps during the Second World War. I mentioned this to a friend who responded, “Those guys [the men who suffered in concentration camps] have a lot more to say.” They do. These men and women (like Corrie Ten Boom and others not so well known) have depth and maturity that surpass those who have not suffered. I notice this also in the music we sing. The young contemporary Christian music writer who has never suffered to any degree writes with shallowness compared to someone like Fanny Crosby, who wrote as one who knew suffering through her blindness. Those who suffer well have a depth and maturity beyond their years, which God desires for them to share with others.
As I shared with my class, there are some points of suffering that I cannot understand because I haven’t been through it … yet. And, hopefully, will not go through the suffering. But there are points from which God has given me insight to what it means to suffer.
Sometimes it is a hard Scripture to recite but it remains true:
Romans 8:28 (New International Version, ©2011)
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
Footnotes:
a. Romans 8:28 Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good—with those who
So, while I don’t always understand why bad things happen to God’s people, I know that God can use those bad things to enhance the life that He owns … mine.
The musical group Selah sings the following song that I find quite uplifting:
Unredeemed (Track #8)
The cruelest words, the coldest heart
The deepest wounds, the endless dark
The lonely ache, the burning tears
The bitter nights, the wasted years
Life breaks and falls apart
But we know these are
[Chorus]
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
They may be unfulfilled, they may be unrestored
But when anything that’s shattered is laid before the Lord
Just watch and see it will not be
Unredeemed
For every choice that led to shame
And all the love that never came
For every vow that someone broke
And every life that gave up hope
We live in the shadow of the fall
But the cross says these are all …
[Chorus]
Places where grace is soon to be so amazing
They may be unfulfilled, they may be unrestored
But you never know the miracles the Father has in store
Just watch and see it will not be
Just watch and see it will not be
Unredeemed
Have a good day in the Lord.
Agape’
Mr. Jim
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