Daily Devotional for Wednesday, September 2

The Pattern of Consolation and Comfort

“And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation,” 2 Corinthians 1:6,7.
Have you ever noticed how God often uses our difficult seasons to help someone else later? That is exactly what Paul was talking about. He reminded the Corinthians that both suffering and comfort come through the hand of a loving God, and both have a purpose.
When Paul and his team went through trials, God did not waste a moment of it. Their affliction became a testimony that strengthened others. The comfort they received from the Lord became the same comfort they could share with the church. God used their pain as a ministry.
That is still how He works today. The comfort God gives you in the middle of your storm is meant to flow through you to others who are hurting. When you have walked a difficult road and found God faithful, you become a living reminder to someone else that He will be faithful to them too.
Paul was confident that the believers in Corinth would experience both suffering and consolation, and he knew God would use both for their good. The same is true for us. Every hardship and every bit of comfort is part of God’s beautiful pattern of grace.

Thought for Today
God never wastes a hurt. The comfort He gives you today may be exactly what someone else will need tomorrow.

Steven Ridings