Verse By Verse Devotional On 2 Corinthians By Pastor Jack #8

Afflicted and Comforted For You

1:6a "But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort..."

Here begins one of the most striking and Christ-like themes of this epistle. Paul recognizes that not only his labors and his tears, but also his sufferings and his comfort, are being experienced not for his own sake but for the sake of the children of God. It is more clear in this letter than in any other: Paul is living his life for others. And his troubles are a blessing because they help him bless others.

Training is essential if we are going to be useful to God. None of us is born useful, we need to be made useful. And we become useful through the process of being afflicted in the world and comforted by God.

As I was writing this devotional my oldest son Tim called on the car phone. He had been involved in a minor car accident early in the morning (his fault) and was understandably sullen. "I wish I could start this day over again," he said.

"If you had eyes to see what important lessons God has for you in this, you wouldn’t say that," I said. "God has His training He needs to put you through and You can’t become useful to Him without it. 2Cor.1:6 says, ’if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort.’ God has His curriculum to prepare You for His service." (I hope I comforted him so that his comfort might be useful too.)

One of my daughters recently heard an Elizabeth Elliot tape on which she told of an expression her siblings used while growing up whenever someone would be stuck in an unpleasant situation. They would say "GMT!", which stood for Good Missionary Training. That’s exactly the point. Whenever we undergo hardships, we ought to think of ourselves as undergoing missionary training, to prepare us to serve and bless the people of God. Jesus was afflicted for them, and now His followers must be willing to follow Him in the same path.

Dear Father, please help me to trust. And please help me to be willing to suffer for the sake of Christ and the ones He suffered for. He was willing to undergo much affliction for me, and yet I am so reluctant to undergo any affliction for the sake of others. Forgive me, Lord Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit so that my life might be empowered and directed by You.