God’s Greater Purpose in Our Pain
“He (God) comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us.” 2 Corinthians 1:4 (NCV)
Where is God when it hurts? Maybe you’re in a season of sorrow and His presence seems so far away. Our pain often prevents us from feeling God’s nearness, but the truth is, He is closer to us than we are to our own selves. It only makes sense when we open our hearts to receive the comfort God offers. Sorrow is indiscriminate. Heartbreak and pain will visit every one of us at some time or another. When it does, we have a choice to make. We can either receive God’s comfort or resist it. Our sorrows will either make us bitter or better. If we run from God, our grief can bury us. But if we run to God, pour out our sorrows before Him, we will experience the sweetness of His presence comforting us with peace that passes understanding.
The Psalmist declared in Psalm 30:5b (NKV) that “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” It’s been my experience that you could change that word “morning” in this verse to “mourning” and it would express the truth of God’s greater purpose in our pain when we receive the comfort He offers. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the (mourning).” Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (NIV)
Our tears are precious to God, so precious that Psalm 56:8 (NLT) says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” So don’t waste your sorrows. Cry out to the Lord. Receive the comfort of the Holy Spirit. His very name means “Comforter.” The Holy Spirit is our Divine Comforter. One of the roles He plays in the lives of Christ followers is to comfort us in all our sorrows. In fact, the entire Godhead comforts us, God the Father is called “… the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. …” in 2 Corinthians 1:3 (NIV). Then in verse five, the Bible says, “… our comfort abounds through Christ, (God the Son).” And in John 14, as Jesus prepared His disciples for their hour of sorrow, He told them, “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter, and He will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit. …” John 14:16-17a (TLB) God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all play a part in comforting us in all our troubles.
God will never leave us comfortless. But that is not all. God also uses others to comfort us as well. In the same passage of 2 Corinthians 1 where the Bible speaks of the Father and the Son’s comfort it says we also receive comfort from others who have experienced God’s comfort in their lives. This is the healing ministry of the body of Christ. It’s why every Christ follower needs a local church and a life group. Consider this passage for a moment from two perspectives – one of receiving the comfort of God and the other in offering that comfort to others. Read it out loud to yourself: “He comforts us every time we have trouble, so when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us.” 2 Corinthians 1:4 (NCV)
In what ways has God comforted you? How has He used others to comfort you? Now, in what ways may He want to use you to comfort others? This is God’s greater purpose in our pain.