Recently, I (Kim) came across a heading in my Bible that made me read further, “Comfort in Suffering.” Suffering? Doesn’t sound very appealing, does it? No one likes to suffer and yet everyone has suffered to some degree in their lives, affected by sickness, death, divorce, disappointment…the list goes on. What good thing can be gained by suffering?
Salvation....Christ willingly offered Himself up to the most horrific suffering ever experienced; the brutal torture and ultimate death on the cross to pay for the sins of His people. What He experienced was the epitome of suffering. Had it not been for Christ’s willingness to suffer in our place, we would be forever bound to sin and misery and face an eternal end far worse than any suffering here on earth.
The comfort of others...God can use our sufferings to be a blessing and comfort to someone else. Can someone who has never lost a loved one truly understand the grief associated with such a loss? Not entirely. But someone who has had the same experience can be of great comfort to a grieving individual since they can identify with such despair.
Salvation....Christ willingly offered Himself up to the most horrific suffering ever experienced; the brutal torture and ultimate death on the cross to pay for the sins of His people. What He experienced was the epitome of suffering. Had it not been for Christ’s willingness to suffer in our place, we would be forever bound to sin and misery and face an eternal end far worse than any suffering here on earth.
The comfort of others...God can use our sufferings to be a blessing and comfort to someone else. Can someone who has never lost a loved one truly understand the grief associated with such a loss? Not entirely. But someone who has had the same experience can be of great comfort to a grieving individual since they can identify with such despair.
Our final deliverance...Scripture tells us that we may be "burdened beyond measure, above strength, and despaired even of life." Our hope and comfort can not be found here on this earth but is found in the One who is able to deliver us from physical, and more importantly, spiritual death. As Paul states in II Corinthians 2, "Our hope for you (the church) is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation."
Suffering in this life is unavoidable but through Christ we have great reason to rejoice, in good times and bad. We can rest in knowing that God has a sovereign purpose both in our troubles and in the comfort that He gives us in them.
We invite you to join with us in celebrating the comfort found in Christ by creating a card, scrapbook page, or other project based on this week's theme. Leave us a comment with a link back to your blog or gallery...we'd love to see your creation!!
Lythan
Hazel
Ruth
Esther
Kim
