2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NKJV

“3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. 6Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. 7And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.”

Biblically Defining “Comfort”

It is important to note here that this word translated as “comfort” in the English language is not just about all the feel good stuff. The word in the Greek is paraklésis, and it means comfort, consolation, exhortation, entreaty, encouragement, appeal, warning, and a holy urging. And “holy urging” “is used of the Lord directly motivating and inspiring believers to carry out his plan” (biblehub.com). So God may comfort us in the same manner in which he comforted Paul in his “thorn in the flesh” situation.

None of us knows what Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was other than it was a messenger of Satan to inflict Paul with suffering, it was not sin in Paul’s life, and when Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to have it removed, the Lord responded to him with, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” That was his consolation from the Lord, not to remove the suffering, but to give grace to Paul in his suffering so that he was able to endure it in the strength of the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Comforting Others

So, if God comforts us in our tribulations that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God, please understand that our Lord comforted Paul with “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” We must be very careful to make sure we are not giving people false hopes that the pain is just going to go away, or that they will no longer be hated and persecuted for the sake of the gospel which they are teaching to others.

For the Scriptures teach us that suffering is to be expected and that it is part of our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. It is what God allows in our lives to keep us humble, to keep us trusting in him, and to keep us going to the Lord in every difficulty which arises in our lives in order to gain his counsel and his wisdom, and so we don’t allow our sufferings to destroy us. So don’t lie to people just to make them feel good. Yes, be loving, be compassionate, be kind, and be humble, but speak the truth in love to them they need to hear.

The Sufferings of Christ

What were Jesus’ sufferings? He was hated and rejected and persecuted and falsely accused of wrong and thought crazy or of Satan and hounded continuously by those who opposed him. They were always trying to trip him up with his words so they would have cause to accuse him of wrong, which he did not do. And then they plotted his crucifixion on a cross and convinced the Romans to carry it out for them. And so they had Jesus arrested on false charges, beaten nearly to death, and then hung on a cross to die.

Why? Because he claimed to be God, which is who he is and was and always will be – God the Son. And when he lived on the earth he was fully man and fully God (God incarnate). And because he taught the truth of the gospel that many did not want to hear, and he confronted the hypocrites in their false righteousness and in their sinful practices, and he healed people on the Sabbath, and for a time he had a huge following, and so they were jealous of him and threatened by him, this is why they had him crucified.

Our Sufferings

Now the Scriptures teach that as followers of Jesus Christ that we will share in the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. So if we are truly following Jesus with our lives, and if we are walking in his ways and in his truth and righteousness, in obedience to his commands, and so we have forsaken our sins, and so we are sharing the gospel of Christ with the people, as he taught it, we should expect that we will suffer in many of the same ways in which Jesus suffered for the sake of our salvation from sin.

So, just know that your comfort may not come in any form that feels like comfort to you, although it may. Instead of the Lord removing you from difficult and painful circumstances he may counsel you to remain and to keep trusting him that he knows what is best for you, and that he has a plan for it all. And he may not promise that things will get better eventually, but he may counsel you that things are going to get much worse. But that is to prepare you for the reality of the times in which we live and what’s coming.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; Hebrews 12:3-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

Who Believes?

Based off Isaiah 53
An Original Work / October 3, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Gospel message, who believes?
Jesus Christ died on a tree,
Saving us from all our sin,
So we might be cleansed within.

Had no beauty found in Him,
That we should desire Him.
Man of sorrows, suffering;
Crushed for our iniquities.

Surely He has borne our griefs;
From our sadness, brings relief.
Bore the stripes; forsaken, He,
So forgiven we might be.

We, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us turned his own way.
Jesus calls, “Repent today;
My commandments, now obey.”

Jesus said, to come to him,
We must die to all our sin.
Crucified with Him, we live,
Walking in His righteousness.

Suff’ring servants, we will be,
Taking His identity on us,
When confessing Him
As our Savior, Lord and King.

God’s Grace is Sufficient
An Original Work / June 16, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love