Devotional 2 Corinthians 1: The God of All Comfort Reflection on 2 Corinthians 1: why God comforts us in afflictions, the true origin of suffering, and aligning our decisions with divine will. Topics: Devotional, New Testament.

Devotional 2 Corinthians 1: The God of All Comfort

Today’s devotional is found in the book of 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, and this was what happened.

Synopsis: In this chapter, Paul writes his second letter to the church of Corinth, explaining to them that God is the God of all comfort and why he had to change his travel plans.

Observations

These were my observations.

1. The God of all comfort. When we hear this statement, depending on our spiritual maturity, wisdom, and understanding, we interpret it in very different ways. For those who are still infants in the faith or non-believers, this sounds very strange (1 Corinthians 2:14). For how can God be a God of comfort and simultaneously allow so many tragedies to happen (e.g., murders, natural disasters, injustices, hunger, thirst, sexual abuse, etc.)? Indeed, such an objection makes sense if we blame God for everything that has happened and continues to happen. But for those who are spiritually mature, we know that God is not to blame for the suffering we experience. For when God created the universe, He made it perfect (Genesis 1:31). It was humanity (specifically, Adam and Eve) who first disobeyed God (Genesis 3:6). Because of their choice, and consequently our own, sin entered the world and continues to spread throughout the earth (Romans 5:12). Yet even so, God demonstrates that He is a merciful God of all comfort, for He sent His one and only Son to save all who believe in Him as Lord and Savior (John 3:16). Furthermore, Jesus also left us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to comfort and sustain us until Christ returns (John 14:16, 26). All these actions demonstrate that God is the God of all comfort, because even while we were guilty, He spared no effort to save us.
2. Making our plans in accordance with God’s plans. This is our true ongoing challenge as Christians and the area where we face the greatest struggles to this day. It all began when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For that fruit gave humanity the presumption that we too, like God, could independently determine what is good and bad. That is, we now often think we possess the same capacity as God to discern what is right and wrong. Because of this, we place great confidence in our own judgment and frequently assume we know better than God what we should do with our lives. This is the danger. For from the moment we begin thinking this way, our hearts start to harden and we stop listening to the voice of God. This is fatal. It is no different from a patient who is severely ill and stops listening to the physician specializing in their illness. It is a prescription for death. And that is what will happen to us unless we repent of our stubbornness and submit to the divine will. For the wages of sin is death, and we are all sinners (Romans 6:23). Therefore, it is only by placing our faith in God and accepting His only Son as our Lord and Savior that we have salvation.