COMFORTED TO COMFORT OTHERS

Diana Kriesel

Monday, 11/15/10 – Job 41, 42; 2 Corinthians 1,2 - “Comforted to Comfort Others”

S – 2 Corinthians 1:4 – “He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” The Message Bible says it this way: “He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.”

O – The comfort we receive from God is not simply for our own personal relief; it has another purpose- so that we might be able to help others. Paul went through tribulation and through his experience, he was also equipped to better minister to others. God prepares us for what He is preparing us for. We lead others most effectively down the path that God has taken us. God’s math is amazing! As the trials abound, the comfort of God abounds. And then He multiplies it over when he uses us in the lives of others!

A – God shows Himself to be the God of tender mercy and comforts us, bearing us up in, through and above all our trial and difficulties. He gives us personal experience of His sustaining power and grace, and He doesn’t stop there! He then uses us as agents of comfort for others.

P – Lord, teach us to live from Kingdom perspective, living from the realization that as we experience Your comfort in our distress, there is not only relief, but also purpose, far beyond what we presently know or see. Give us eyes to see that Your comfort is channeled through us, transforming our lives as well as the lives of others.