Through Troubles We Gain Comfort By Faith

As Christians we receive comfort through suffering. If we never suffered, then how could God comfort us. And if God didn't comfort us, then how would we be able to reach out and offer that comfort to others?

2 Corinthians 1: 3-7
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

When a Christian suffers it's so they can reach out to others who are going through the same type of suffering.
When a Christian recieves comfort it is so they can also reach out to those who are suffering and serve as a comfort to them.

So what type of christian would be allowed to suffer? One who's faith is weak, or one who's faith is strong?
Surely it would have to be one who's faith is strong. If they didn't have a strong faith in Christ, then how would they be able to reach out to others, and offer the same comfort they have recieved through Christ?


2 Corinthians 4: 16- 18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Here I will use my own father as an example again. Take a look at the scripture above, and consider each word of it carefully.

What is seen, and what is unseen....

What does one see when they look at my father?
This is what most people will see...
A man who is disabled, his body broken and wasting away. Someone who hasn't been healed, and is facing death.

What don't others see when they look at my father?
This is what most people will not see...
A life that has touched many others, that has served as testimony to many others about his faith in Jesus.
The other lives that crossed our paths, who suffered in much the same way. Who through my fathers disability allowed not only him, but also the rest of our family to reach out and serve as a comfort to them, and share the word of God with them. To show them how through God we can find the strength to face each new day, and overcome all the struggles that we may face.
A soul that will soon be spending eternity in heaven with Jesus, and granted an everlasting peace with no more pain or sorrow.

The things that are unseen are much better than the things that are seen, and all serve a much greater purpose.

 

Thanks Reformationist,
It's a great feeling to know that through all our troubles, no matter how great or how small, God is always there to give us comfort and understanding, and to see us through them.

Originally posted by SUNSTONE
I don't mean to be a nag, but it sounds like you are giving in on the fight against the desease that is on your father. Is this true?

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I'm not giving in on anything. Do you seek to take away the comfort the Lord himself has given me?

Do you know on what day you will die? Do you know how you will pass away from this life, so you can enter into an eternal one?

We will all pass away from our life in the flesh at some point. Yet none of us know about how or when it will happen. It's God that is in control of that.

Originally posted by Andrew
QUOTE: "As Christians weÊreceive comfort through suffering. If we never suffered, then how could God comfort us. And if God didn't comfort us, then how would we be able to reach out and offer that comfort to others?"

That's true. But what divides Christians is types of sufferings we are 'supposed to' suffer. I wont include sickness becos God paid a HEAVY price to redeem us from that. So to just accept it as part n parcel of a Christians sufferings (in the sense that that's the way God intends it to be) is not right.

"5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. "
-- IOW when Christ walked the earth, was sickness one of his sufferings? Of cse, there are Christians who believe Christ fell sick like the world does but that's heresy to me. He was not just "spirit-spotless" as some argue, but totally spotless!

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I never made any claims that Christ himself was sick.

So then where does one draw the line about what type of things a christian might be allowed to suffer?

Do we need to go by your standards? I will take comfort in the things the Lord has shown me, no one will be able to convince me of anything different.

Are there certain things that Christian should die from, and certain things they shouldn't die from, in a physical sense? Can you make us a list of those things?

Do you plan to stay on this earth in the flesh forever? Do you know how your life here on earth will end? I know that I don't, and when my time comes I will not question it.

 

Andrew,
Why only Pauls sufferings? There are many other examples of people who suffered in many various ways throughout the entire Bible.

Because of my fathers disease many doors were opened so my family could witness to others. I consider it nothing short of a miracle that my father has lived much longer than most do with the disease, and it's not even that disease he is going to die from.

Unless God has given you insight to this particular situation, then you should not question the amount of faith my father has in God. Nor does God give us the right to question how much faith anyone has in him. That's for him to judge, not us. Only God knows what's in someones heart, and only he knows how much someone can bear.


John 9:1-3
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

A man blind from birth, his faith had nothing to do with his being born blind, or how long he had been blind for. Nor did it have anything to do with sin.

Matthew 9:12-13
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
13 But go and learn what this means; I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Originally posted by Andrew


becos Paul is a good NT example. He actually listed out his sufferings in detail for us in more than one place. Yes there are other examples thru out the Bible eg Job, but lets not forget we are on the other side of the cross. eg we cant put ourselves in Job's shoes cos Job did not have Christ and his finished work. by doing that, we wld be ignoring Christ and his finished work. btw: Job was doubly-blessed in the end and lived to a ripe old age. so you'd have to look for egs after the cross to be accurate.

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From the NT

James 5:10-11
10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

The devil can throw lemons/eggs at you but God can take it and turn it into lemonade/omelette for you. But its unscriptural for me to say that God himself (instead of the devil) threw the lemons and eggs at me.

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No one is claiming it was God that throws lemons/eggs.

I dont doubt the fact that God has/continues to use your father's case to bring about good, but i wont say that God made your father that way and that he's the one keeping him that way -- simply becos healing is in the atonement/redemption of the Son. does your Father know that?

i'm not interested in questioning the faith of your father. isnt this thread abt the types of sufferings Christians can expect?

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 You do question his faith when you say he needs to have a physical healing in order to be saved. Or that he wasn't healed due to lack of faith. You question his faith when you ask this .... simply becos healing is in the atonement/redemption of the Son. does your Father know that?

 This thread wasn't about what type of suffering we should expect, I don't feel God has a made a list that says Christians can only suffer this way or that. It's about how God comforts us through our suffering, so that we might serve as a comfort to others. It is our faith in him, that allows him to bring us comfort, and understanding, and allows us to look past the surface.

also, there are diff areas of faith. some believers have more faith for, say, witnessing but less faith for say, a good marriage, so which area are you talking about? or are you just refering to faithfulness in the gen sense. Faith for things is not equal to faithfulness (loyalty) - at least not the way i define it.

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There is one faith. Faith in Jesus Christ, that we may obtain an everlasting life, once we pass from this one.


There are different gifts of the spirit, not everyone recieves the same gift. teaching is a gift of the spirit, as is healing, speaking in tongues, prophecy, etc... so it has nothing to do with how much or what type of faith you have, God determins who will recieve what gifts, they are given according to his will.

 

Andrew,

If my father didn't believe he could be healed then he wouldn't have wasted his time asking for it, or going to see faith healers, etc...

Again there is only one faith. Faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.
Now when one declares their faith how do they declare it? Does one say "I have faith for teaching", another "I have faith for speaking in tongues", and yet another "I have faith for prophesy"?
Not at all, they say "I have faith in Jesus Christ". And when one has faith in Jesus, and are given a gift through the spirit, say such as the gift of speaking in tongues, do they say "I have faith for speaking in tongues". Or do they say "I have been given the gift of speaking in tongues"? Certainly they declare it as a gift from the Holy Spirit. And the gifts of the spirit are handed out according to Gods will, not our own.
There are different types of gifts, but only one faith.

If the Lord has shown me that I do not need to question the faith of my father, and has shown me how through his life, Gods will has been being accomplished, and he has granted me a better understanding of it all. Then who am I to question what the Lord has shown me?

Andrew,
If the Lord showed me before I even knew my father was going to die that he planned on taking him. Who am I to question it?

If the Lord has shown me many things that go far beyond my fathers disabilty, and are clearly things that brought about Gods will being carried out. Who am I to question it?

I have posted scripture all along, that backs up what I said.

when you look for areas that a person might lack faith in, you are indeed questioning it. not only that when a person is told they don't have enough faith, then they start questioning their faith altogether, and wonder if they even have enough to be saved.

So tell me this. How do you know if someone is lacking in faith, or if God is just waiting to heal someone in his time instead of our own?

Now if God is just waiting for his perfect timing to heal someone, so that his Glory can be shown through it, then wouldn't telling someone they don't have enough faith serve only to destroy the faith they originaly had, by making them question it?

What was the reason Jesus went around performing miracles? Was it not so that the people would see it and believe? Was it not for the benifit of those around that lacked faith, so that they could believe by seeing the miracles he performed?