Articles
From Misery to Ministry
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (CSB)
Are you currently experiencing some kind of affliction that you feel is unique only to you? Perhaps you’re dealing with something of a spiritual, physical, emotional, and/or mental nature. Maybe you’re going through or have been involved in a divorce, a miscarriage, cancer, a life-altering surgery, or the traumatic aftermath of a car accident. The list is unending. Whatever ordeal you are suffering through, one thing is for sure: it’s heavily weighing you down more and more every single day. You need to know that you’re not alone. It’s imperative for you to acknowledge this. There is an extremely good chance that whatever you're currently dealing with has already been experienced by someone else, perhaps by another individual you may even know on a personal level.
The psalmist wrote in Psalm 34:17-18 that Yahweh listens to the prayers of the righteous, rescues them from all their troubles, is near the brokenhearted, and saves those crushed in spirit. The elder encourages us, in 1 Peter 5:7, to cast all our cares on God because He cares about us. And while the immediate context seems to be dealing with spiritual trials, we can learn a principle from the author of Hebrews. For the Holy Spirit reminds us through him in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus can relate to us, for He suffered many things in this life. Hallelujah!
It seems that 2 Corinthians 1:3-10 is referring to suffering afflictions primarily as a result of being Christians. While that may be the immediate context, there is certainly a principle we can extract from the text, specifically from what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:4. He says that once we have been comforted by God in all our afflictions, we will be able to comfort others in any kind of affliction they may find themselves in. That being said, we would do good for God's glory to allow Him to use our misery for His ministry once we have been comforted by Him. Paul states in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 that Timothy and he found themselves near death for the cause of Christ. Christians we know may not be on the brink of death physically, but they may feel like it emotionally.
At times opportunities to help others will fall into our laps so-to-speak, but I dare say that most oftentimes they won’t. We need to be actively seeking others who are hurting. We would do good to pray to God, asking Him to bless us with a heart like His to care about others who are hurting, for eyes to see those around us who are troubled, for arms to hug those who are wounded, for ears to listen attentively to those who are bruised, and for a tongue that would speak both wisdom and grace to those in their time of dire need.
Unfortunately, people seem to usually walk around wearing a mask everywhere they go (this includes when Christians assemble). Stop and take a moment to ask people how they’re doing. And do so sincerely, not superficially. We must make sure they know we’re seriously asking them because we are genuinely concerned about them. We may be surprised at what they tell us. More people are hurting than we often realize. But, if we’ll take the time to truly care for them the way Jesus cares about us, perhaps they’ll open up to us and their healing will begin. And if they are suffering through something we have already endured in our lives then we’ll be able to help them based on that common bond. And to be clear: this teaching is not to be used only for the needs of fellow saints; sinners need help too (Galatians 6:10).
So, let's allow God to turn our misery into His ministry, and may He be glorified as a result.
- from-misery-to-ministry.pdf (124.87 kB)
