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 de