Shared Suffering...Shared Consolation

Scripture

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, ⁴ who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. ⁵ For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. ⁶ If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. ⁷ Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.

Devotion

Sometimes, life is just hard...and that has definitely been true of late.  It seems like everywhere I turn, there is something else to fill me with anxiety, fear, anger, or grief. On Wedesday alone, I learned that  a dear friend's family members were injured in the explosion in Beirut, one of my cousins had died, another family member hurt their back, and someone close to me is being harassed and demeaned by very people who are supposed to be in their corner.  And this doesn't even begin to take into account the many woes that people ask me to keep confidential: the health concerns, interpersonal conflicts, and worries for the future that people carry with them every single day.  And on top of everything else, a pandemic hangs over us like a dark cloud.  Yes, life can be hard.  there are days when it all feels like too much.

 

The Apostle Paul knew well what it was like to feel anxious, grief-filled, and afflicted.  He was mistrusted and maligned by some of the very people he and the other apostles helped bring to faith.  On top of some lingering physical ailments, Paul survived being run out of multiple towns, three beatings, a stoning, three shipwrecks. and even a snakebite. before spending his final days in a Roman prison.  Instead of trying to hide his suffering, Paul worked though it in ways that gave courage to the Early Church.  He explained to the Corinthians that just as he suffered with and for Christ, he would be consoled with Christ.  

 

Paul went on to state that through Christ, those who suffer together also share in Christ's consolation together.  Because Christ is there to comfort us in our sorrow, we can be there for one another.  The specific problems we face may be different but we endure pain, anxiety, and grief together as one Church.   Through Christ, we are able to acknowledge one another pain and offer what comfort we can.  As we do so, we find hope in knowing that just as we share our pain with one another, we also share the peace and solace we find in Jesus. No one is ever left to suffer alone. 

The blessing of being able to comfort one another in our suffering has been brought home to me several times this week.  The most moving one involved my friend from Lebanon.  When I asked my her what I could do to help her family in Beirut, she said it was enough to have someone willing to listen as she shared her pain and anxiety.  The next day, she asked me what I needed after my cousin's death, and my response was pretty much the same.  Our grief had different flavors, but God brought us together in a way that helped us comfort one another.  Through shared grief, both my friend and I received the blessing of the consolation that comes from God, the bonds of love between us grew stronger.

When you are struggling, I hope you trust God enough to share your suffering with someone you trust.  And when someone you know is afflicted with pain or anxiety, I hope you reach out to them and offer to share a bit of the load.  For it is when we share in our suffering and our consolation that we truly live into our relationship with the Almighty.  And through Christ, we can find blessings even in our sorrow.

Prayer

God our Comforter, you know that the path we are walking has its share of suffering.  When we are hurt, weary, or angry, help us remember that we can find consolation in not only in our prayers to you but also in the sharing our sorrows with one another.  Remind us that we need one another in our lives.  May the comfort and the prayers we offer up on behalf of one other reflect the great consolation we find in You.  Amen.