3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
Dear God, there is a lot on my mind this morning, and I wanted to make sure I woke up early so I could really spend some concerted time with you at the beginning of a day that has the potential to be difficult. Specifically, there is a meeting at the end of the day that has the potential to be controversial and even confrontational. I intended to spend most of my time this morning praying over this meeting. Praying that your Holy Spirit will be in it. Praying that you will use it for your good and the ultimate good of everyone in our community. Praying that you will use it to heal and truly reveal yourself to everyone there. Praying that, if you need it to be painful, that you will make the pain count. And I do pray all of this. I pray over this meeting, that you will truly bring your presence in there and that you will enter this world so that your kingdom comes and your will is done through our meeting today. Give me an open mind that will listen for your Holy Spirit to speak to me. Give the others in the meeting–most of whom I know call on you as their God–to do the same.
But reading this verse of the day from Bible Gateway this morning, made mem also think of all of my coworkers who are struggling. Some have sick relatives. Some are grieving loss. Some are facing their own physical ailments. Some have children who are struggling. Then I read this passage from Paul and, although he is referring to comforting each other through religious persecution, it can also refer to us comforting each other through our shared burdens. You comfort us. We then know how to pass comfort on to others. We suffer and one of the side effects of the suffering is that we learn to empathize with others. It’s why you put us in community, whether it be through church, family, work, or just a good friend group. You put us in community so that we might be part of ministering to each other.
Father, help us to all comfort each other today. Help us to know how to love others. For all of the staff at work, give us eyes to see and ears to hear our coworkers, our patients, our volunteers, and our donors. Help us to see beyond facades and discern what is happening under the surface. Help us to also see that we are not alone as we face our own struggles. Help us to be exactly who you need us to be for your kingdom’s sake.
I pray this through Jesus,
Amen