Joel Singleton
Digital & Church Partnerships Coorindator
Receiving Comfort, Giving Comfort
After Paul tells the Corinthian Church about the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort”, he tells them that the comfort they have received is also the comfort they can give out. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” It’s so important here not to presume God is disregarding your hurt and pain by telling you to help others. The pattern is your comfort, within your hurt, first. It’s from a place of having been comforted that we understand what is needed in someone else’s hurt.
One of the most beautiful things about God is that He redeems what is broken and transforms it into something whole. Whether it’s months or years down the line, God wants to take the hurt of your loss and transform it into the beauty of life. Remember, not without bringing you comfort first. But after, and only after, will He use what you’ve gone through to bring comfort into someone else’s loss.
There will come a day when “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” This is our hope, our assurance, our promise!
This may happen way further on in your journey through grief. That’s okay. For now, it may help you realise there are others who have gone through loss that God wants to use in your life as another means of comfort. You see, God loves to use His people to build one another up. It’s often through others that we get to glimpse the essence of who He is.
For three days we have covered the long journey of grief. Three days is not nearly enough to process the loss you are facing. However, my prayer is that you may have found some comfort, some hope, and some insight for every step of the way. I want to leave you with a promise and a hope:
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Emphasis mine).
There will come a day when “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” This is our hope, our assurance, our promise!
