Comfort Others
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 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.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Not one ounce of your grief, hurt, or loss will ever be wasted. God will redeem every teardrop. One way he will do this is by granting you the privilege of being a conduit for his comfort.
The “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” comforts you, so that you “may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.” God’s healing comfort is for you, yes, but not only for you. The healing grace you have received in the past, and are receiving now, is forged in the furnace of pain in order to become a means of grace for others. God’s comfort is meant to be transferred.
The comfort you are blessed to bring to the heart of others is the very same comfort you receive when you “are comforted by God.” In other words, without suffering loss and grief, you would not receive the comfort of God firsthand. You would have less authentic comfort to pass on to others. On the other hand, when you receive healing grace from the Father of mercies—while you so desperately need it yourself—you become a greater blessing to others. That is the apostle’s point in the Scripture above.
But he doesn’t stop there. He connects your suffering with the suffering of Christ in this way: Since you “share in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ [you] share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:5). The more you receive the comfort of Christ, the more you become a comforter for Christ. That’s part of what God is doing in your life through your loss and grief.
Resolve to become an outlet of the healing grace of Jesus.
So, let me suggest a simple, practical way for you to spread the comfort which God brings to you. Take a few truths you’ve learned in these daily devotionals, and pass them on to another hurting person as soul medicine. Share them graciously, as an understanding friend, from one hurting person to another.
Remember, your suffering is never for nothing. Neither is your healing.
God will not allow any of your pain to be wasted. In his grace, he can redeem it all. He will do so for your sake, yes, but also for the sake of others. May God bless you, my friend!
[Excerpted from the 50-day devotional, A SMALL BOOK FOR HURTING HEARTS: Meditations on Loss, Grief, and Healing.]
