Sharing with others what God has given . . .

A few days ago God brought to my attention that whatever I go through; trials, joys, challenges and so on, all things help me identify with others. Today, as I begin reading 2 Corinthians, I’m reminded again, this time more pointedly . . .

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3–7)

The Lord makes this practical. Yesterday I talked with someone who struggles with various problems. While I’d not had the same severity, I had enough of those problems to identify and even be a comfort to this person. One of the devil’s lies is making us think we are alone in our struggles. We are not — and this was an important part of that conversation.

This letter, written by Paul to the Christians at Corinth, begins with these verses then goes into the struggles Paul experienced. He begins with . . .

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:8–11)

Odd as it sounds, this may have been Paul’s way of ministering to these believers — by asking them to minister to him! He had been so utterly burdened that he wanted to die, even thought he would. He realized this extreme affliction was teaching him to rely on God. In it all, he saw God’s faithfulness, but he asked these believers to pray for him, to help him by trusting God for him. He could have presented to them his ‘perfect’ life as their example but instead, he identified with them by sharing his weaknesses and struggles.

I’ve asked God to give me an application for today. This morning, I’ll be meeting with a few other ladies for prayer. Will one of them be in affliction? Will I be able to comfort someone? Or will I need to share some of my afflictions (which seem small compared to Paul’s life). I need to pay attention to the unspoken needs behind their prayer requests.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, this is a simple passage, yet You give me a good challenge in it. I can comfort others but being ‘on top of things’ is not always the best way to encourage someone. Sometimes they need to hear that everyone struggles and we all need each other, both to give and receive comfort. We especially need to pray for each other. Keep me alert to what You want from me today.

Today’s thankful list . . .  

A wonderful time of prayer with others.

Being back to the gym for a workout with my trainer who is wise beyond her years.

Hot chocolate.

Short rests.

Able to finally get that pink baby quilt on the longarm.

Nearby grocery store and the money to buy food.

God’s Holy Spirit who blesses me with peace, joy, contentment and faith to trust the Lord.

Identifying with others

Elections are coming up in both Canada and the United States. Some of the candidates are making an effort to show how they know and identify with voters. For instance, Sarah Palin has a child with Down’s Syndrome and tells voters if any of them have children with special needs, she understands their situation and will hear their voice.

In the political realm, reaching voters can be out of genuine concern, or it can be out of that desire for power which is only possible if people vote for you. In the spiritual realm, God calls me to serve people with His compassion and love for them, and in Christ He demonstrates to me that identification with the people I serve is important.

I’ve learned this from experience. One Bible class that I teach was attended by a woman with fetal alcohol syndrome. At mid-life, she has the problems of a young child in knowing her boundaries. I’ve never had that and not worked with anyone who has it. Yet I have been a self-centered child and understand the human tendency to make everything about me, so can relate to her at that level. God has shown me how to help her even thought I have not suffered from the same condition. However, if I had suffered from FAS and overcame those same problems, my input into her life would likely be stronger.

As for Jesus, Hebrews 2:10-11 says, “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.”

All three members of the Godhead are perfect, complete. They have not known the guilt of sin, the agonies of regret, or the pain of being human in a sinful world. These verses say that it was fitting or consistent with His sovereign creative power to put Jesus into this world in a human body that He might suffer the same things as we do. God deliberately chose to identify with us, to know our struggles and pain. While Jesus never sinned, He does know about temptation and pain, humiliation and sorrow. He was acquainted with grief, hungry, shed tears, and became angry.

Does that make a difference in my response to Him? I think so. If Bill Gates saw a person in poverty and gave them a healthy financial donation, it could be out of guilt, for personal reward, or perhaps pity. The recipient might be thankful but Bill would not be accessible. He would not likely feel much kinship with that poor person.

However, if Bill abandoned all his riches and lived a few years by the skin of his teeth in poverty and genuine struggle, then made that donation, the recipient would be drawn to him and Bill would also feel as if they were brothers of a kind because they both knew what it was like to be poor.

In a similar fashion, the Bible says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”

It also says that because of Jesus’ sacrifice for me, I am an heir of all things and what Jesus has becomes mine. That means I know His poverty and suffering, His grief over sin and pain, and His humiliation and sorrow, but I also experience God supplying “all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Scripture also says that everything that is the Lord’s is mine and that His riches are far greater than anything this world offers.

As for this matter of identification with others, I can do this in the same way that Jesus did it. He allowed God to put Him through the unimaginable suffering of leaving perfection to live in this world and experience what ordinary people experience. I also must surrender my life to whatever God has in mind for me. The things that I suffer ought to bring me closer to others and help me realize that it is by suffering God equips me to serve others.