The source of all comfort
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 (NLT)
Some conversations are hard. You know those conversations that you know you need to have, but you also know will be challenging or uncomfortable interactions? Maybe it’s giving a staff member feedback on a task that’s been done poorly. Or approaching a friend or family member about something that is causing tension in your relationship. It can be tempting to try and hide from these conversations, to hope that they’ll just go away or fix themselves.
Paul too had some challenging conversations, this time with the Corinthians. He mentions in chapter 2 of 2 Corinthians that his previous visit was painful, and that he’d since written to them in great anguish. He even states that he chose not to put them through another painful visit, but he does address some uncomfortable topics in the letter we know as 2 Corinthians. These include their lack of generosity and challenging the views of those who are rejecting his authority as an apostle/leader – these are not light matters.
But although Paul doesn’t shy away from raising these challenging topics, he does so while first leaning into the comfort he’s received from God through Jesus. Before tackling any of the challenging topics, Paul opens the letter by praising God as the source of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles so that we can show comfort to others too (2 Corinthians 1:3,4). The peace and encouragement of this comfort is not just for Paul, but also for the Corinthians receiving Paul’s challenging letter.
This is a good reminder for us too. When we need to have a hard conversation, we can bring these challenges to God in prayer and ask for peace and comfort as we address them. Not just peace and comfort for us, but also for the others that we’ll be interacting with.
This doesn’t mean that the need for hard conversations goes away, or that the interactions won’t be challenging. But we can be comforted and encouraged in the knowledge that we’re not alone in these conversations.
Prayer: God, thank you for the peace and encouragement you give us when we need to have hard conversations. Help us to know your comfort in our lives so we can show this to others and give us the grace to receive your comfort through others too. Amen.
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