2 Corinthians 1 Devotional

Comforted to Comfort Others

“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.”2 Corinthians 1:4 (BSB)

Paul opens this letter not with complaint but with praise. He blesses the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts his people in every trouble so they can pass that same comfort on to others (1:3-4). He is also honest about his own low point. In Asia the pressure was so far beyond his strength that he despaired of life itself and felt he was under a death sentence (1:8-9).

That darkness had a purpose. It taught him to stop trusting himself and to rely on God, who raises the dead (1:9). The same faithfulness stands behind everything God has said. Paul's travel plans changed, but God's word does not waver, for every one of his promises finds its yes in Christ (1:18-20). Comfort, in this chapter, is not the absence of hardship. It is God himself meeting his people in it. Whatever comfort he has given you is not meant to stop with you, and someone nearby may need it.

To think about: What comfort has God given you in a hard season, and who around you might need to hear about it this week?