Turning Trial into Testimony (#34)

“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.” –2 Corinthians 1:3-4.

The apostle Paul was hounded by many trials and troubles. In fact, just before he wrote the text above, he encountered sorrows so severe that he thought they might lead to his own death sentence. No wonder then that, in writing to the Corinthians, his first aim was to reassure them that he had been delivered by God. It’s no wonder, too, that he seized this opportunity to bless or praise God for his sweet comfort during that recent life-threatening ordeal (2 Cor. 1:3, 8-9). Since we have many acute trials too, we would do well to consider the comfort he experienced.

First, Paul found comfort in the wonderful names of God. To him, God was the “Father of mercies” and “God of all comfort,” which are two of my favorite names for God. That God is the “Father of mercies” means that he is the Fatherly, loving source of all mercies. He is the personal fountainhead from and through whom God’s daily merciful blessings flow into our hearts.

To be sure, there are many poor fathers in this world, and many who have good reason to grieve the failing fathers they have had. But here is a Father who doesn’t fail. Unlike all human fathers, he has a tender heart that is full of mercies. We are weak, tired, sick, poor, doubting, and undeserving (and our fathers are the same). But the Father of mercies is always present, strong, powerful, faithful, and abounding in tender mercies. The Father of mercies is our merciful Father.

Then, too, he is the “God of all comfort,” which means that he is our one and only comfort. He is the God of comfort, and he is the God of all comfort, which implies that there is all comfort in him and no comfort apart from him. All the comfort we need is his to bestow. And all other alleged sources of comfort will ultimately fail. How precious, then, are these names of our God!

The other source of Paul’s comfort was a clear sense of purpose in his pain. The Bible reveals numerous reasons for our various sufferings. But here we see that God comforted Paul “so that” Paul could comfort others. There was purpose in Paul’s pain and suffering. It was so that (or in order that) he could share his own experience of God’s comfort with others.

He was called to pain and suffering so that he might speak from experience in introducing others to the God of all comfort and Father of mercies. In other words, he was called to turn his trial into a testimony. One part of his life mission was to share with others the comfort of God that he had experienced while in his own furnace season of life.

All of this has uplifted me in my many trials. Who can measure my joy in the precious names of God? And who can fathom my excitement in knowing that there is purpose in my pain and opportunity in my adversity? In fact, suffering in general, and cancer in particular, have been keys to unlock people’s ears and hearts—at least for a few moments.

If I play my cancer card shrewdly, people are more sensitive and sympathetic—not to mention attentive. And if they know I am experiencing comfort and peace in the middle of my cancer, their hearts pause even further, at least for a moment, to hear the story of God’s comforting love in Christ.

This encourages me to find more ways to comfort others with the comfort by which I have been comforted by God. It’s why I keep a public cancer journal, preach every chance I get, write books about God, and share the story of God’s comforting mercies whenever I can. I want to turn my trial into a testimony by any means possible.

How about you? Comforted and emboldened by the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, can you see how there is purpose in your pain like there is in mine? Do you have trials that you can turn into testimonies? What circumstances are you facing, in which God has met you with his comfort and grace? And how might you transfer to others that experience of his comfort and love?

To that end, let’s ask the God of all comfort and Father of mercies to pour his merciful comfort on us, to enable us “to comfort others with the comfort by which we have been comforted by him.” Amen.