"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort..." - 2 Corinthians 1:3 ESV
As we dive in, you should know that Paul begins many of his letters by first thanking God for those he is writing. Also, he often prays for them in some way.
But 2 Corinthians is different.
Instead, Paul begins by focusing directly on God's comfort to all who experience affliction. If you continue to read on in the verses following today's Verse of the Day, you'll see that Paul had recently endured an incredibly traumatic event. At the beginning of this letter, instead of praying for his readers and the audience to which he is writing, he asks that they pray for him. Yet, we still see him starting this letter by offering praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here's where we dive into what Paul is teaching us here in this verse: we see him call God by two names, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Because God is in the position of judge over all people, this also puts Him as the sole source of all mercy.
Here are some words that I genuinely want every reader to think about and fully wrap your mind around:
God could execute judgment on all who deserve it. That means every single one of us. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, that could have been it. None of us have to exist, and further, none of us have to be given eternal life or mercy. Because of our sin, God would be a just God for casting judgment on all of us.
Yet, He freely gives His mercy to those who come before Him through faith in Christ (John 3:16-18). So, remember that if you are in the middle of suffering, affliction, or facing incredibly uncertain and hard times, you must remember that God has given us mercy and will continue to do so.
Secondly, Paul tells us that God is the God of all comfort. As Christians, we aren't to run from God. We're not to seek relief from pain anywhere, but instead, we are to run to Him as the source of our comfort. We've mentioned and talked about God being the God of all comfort several times already today, so let's go a little deeper and examine what we mean by the word "comfort."
The original word for comfort used in this verse is the Greek word "paraklēsis" (παράκλησις), which comes from the root word, "parakaleō" (παρακαλέω). This word, "paraklēsis," appears 29 times in 2 Corinthians. And it means more than just momentary relief from affliction or pain; but it involves encouragement, consolation, and exhortation.
So how do we apply this to our lives? By remembering that God's comfort allows us to stop relying on our own strength against suffering, affliction, and pain, it enables us to rest and be strong in His strength, which is far greater than anything we could ever possibly hope to obtain.
For more information, resources, and other articles, please visit our website, https://burningbush.blog/
