2 Corinthians 1:3-5
“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 have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort over flows.”
I recall counseling a young mother of three. She sat across from my desk with an expression of expectancy. She said she needed to know what to say to a woman who had carried a heavy burden since she was a little girl. She asked me if I could listen to the story, and then give her Biblical counsel to equip her to counsel the woman who was deeply disturbed. I agreed to do so, and sat very prayerful as I listened to the story. I prayed that I might be given insight for her to share with the woman. Here was the woman’s story:
When she was a little girl of seven or eight, her father meant everything to her. She could hardly wait for the time when he would come home from work. He would read to her, go for walks with her, and they would talk and laugh together. She would stand in the front yard and wave to him each day that he would leave for work. Her siblings teased her about her strong love for her father, but she didn’t care, it was her dad, and he was special to her.
Her dad and mom argued a lot, and the arguments seemed to get worse and worse. She was so frightened when they would fight, and tried to get them to stop, but she couldn’t. One day, her dad told her at the breakfast table that he was going to leave and would not be coming back. She cried and pleaded for him not to go, but he would not listen to her.
He rose from the breakfast table, kissed her tenderly, and walked out of the house. She stood in the yard calling for him to come back, but he never even turned around, but just walked out of her life. That was about thirty years ago, and he has just now contacted this daughter for the first time in all of those years. He said he wants to come and meet her to apologize for not being there for all of those years.
The woman across the desk from me, “How should I advise her? How should this woman act toward her father?” I was praying more fervently, now that I had had heard the story. I honestly cannot recall if today’s Scripture was the one that I shared with her to pass on to her friend, but if not, it would certainly have been appropriate.
I did counsel her to pass on to her friend that God accepted us in our sins, and we need to be accepting of others, even when they have sinned against us. It is especially at these times, that we have the opportunity of showing forth a forgiving spirit that comes from the Lord.
I was not sure how she would go about passing the information on to her friend. I told her that I would be praying for her, as she shared the insight with her friend. She then dropped the bomb on me. She said, “I was that little girl!” I think we both began to cry at that time. She said that her dad was coming to meet her in a few days, and she wanted to meet him, as Christ would have her meet him. A few days later her dad arrived. Both she and her father were blessed, and God received the glory!
Comfort comes from God, but it never is to remain with us. Notice that as we are comforted, we are then to comfort those who need comfort. This passage also says that Christ’s sufferings overflow into our life, and His comfort also overflows out of our lives. It is like a spring of water that refreshes the parched throat of those in need of comfort. We can bring comfort to others in the same manner that we ourselves are comforted. Don’t hoard the comfort, instead pass it on!
Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.
— Pastor Cecil