The Suffering and Comfort we share (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

 All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others.  When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.  You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.  So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation!  For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you.  Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.  We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share God's comfort.

When Paul talked about sufferings he could have been talking about the suffering for Christ through persecutions or hardships through their own problems happening in the church at Corinth (chapter 2:5).  He was certainly very honest in his dealings with that church .  He also had to be dependent on God's wisdom rather than his own (chapter 1:12).  This  church stretched him quite a bit and he wept over that church because of the discipline he had to administer through love (chapter 2:1-4)

His suffering for them was as he saw among them the attacks of Satan and dealt through discipline of certain members and their suffering in the struggles they were facing brought them closer in a way.  So their sufferings is certainly mutual.  He suffered because of their suffering and their suffering was comforting him as in turn he saw the good example they became as he attest of them having been his letter of recommendation in chapter 3:2.  Granted at first they were a very carnal church, but then, with patience and discipline they improved greatly.

At last, he shared with that church very intimate teachings (Glory of the New Covenant or Treasure in Perishable Containers as examples) that he didn't share with any other churches just because of that common bound which is suffering and comfort.  May we learn to truly fellowship with people through our suffering and our comfort as we deeply care for each other.  The message will certainly come across.  If the comfort is not there it only means that the suffering has not yet worked in us as it should in teaching us one precious lesson after another.  Please don't turn away from your suffering but let it do its work in your life and bring you closer to God.  He is the God of All Comfort indeed!  

We see then that Paul didn't ostracize himself from them because of their immaturity but plowed along with them and worked all the harder with them seeing a real potential for Christ.

Thank you so much for suffering together with me.

Have a blessed day and God bless you!