Daily Devotions: July 30, 2014

Today’s Bible reading is 2 Corinthians chapter 1

(Read the entire New Testament in 2014 by reading only one chapter each day)

God is a God of comfort. He seeks to comfort us in all our troubles. He comforts us so that we may be able to comfort others when they are troubled. The more we suffer for Christ, the more God will pour out His comfort on us through Christ Jesus. Our suffering isn’t pointless. God always has a purpose. Those who share in Christ’s sufferings will also share in the comfort God gives. Life is stormy and trouble comes to us all. Even Jesus faced suffering. Certainly, Paul was no stranger to it either. He said of one stormy experience, “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely on God, who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9 NLT) The word “crushed” reminds us of a donkey with a weight so heavy that its legs buckle beneath the load. Sometimes our burdens are so great that we may lose all hope of recovery. We may feel crushed by circumstances, or broken by burdens. These moments tend to drive us to greater dependency on God. Paul testified that God delivers us from hopeless situations, and the prayers of God’s people aid in our delivery. He said, “You are helping us by praying for us.” And again he said, “God has answered so many prayers for our safety.” If you are facing a storm today know that God will comfort you. If you have been comforted by God in a storm, seek to comfort someone else who is hurting. If you know someone who is in a storm today, know that your prayers are needed and your prayers will be a conduit of comfort to someone crushed beneath the burden of a storm.

Prayer: “We praise You God of comfort, and we lay our burdens at Your feet, we also pray for those we know who are struggling in a storm today. In Jesus name. Amen.”

Randy J. McPheron