God, I am praising You for the comfort You have given me, so I am able to comfort others.

Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NKJV- “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

God makes us able to comfort others out of the comfort He has given us. However, I am learning that He most often calls us to get out of our comfort zones to give away His comfort.

I cannot tell you how many times over the past eighteen years and hundreds of recovery meetings where I have heard people state that they thought no one else had experienced what they had. I do believe that the evil one who rules this earth does his best to rob, steal, and destroy our stories of comfort.

Rarely do people feel comfortable sharing their testimonies. However, the God of comfort has given each of us an amazing comfort and the same comfort someone else needs to hear. God has a supernatural way of making sure the right person hears and feels our comfort.

Just this week I experienced, once again, how God works. His Spirit has been nudging me for weeks to step into a new recovery group. When I decided to lie down for a nap Sunday afternoon, I looked at my clock and “something” reminded me that my church’s recovery group meets in an hour.

At the last minute I decided to go. Interestingly, the meeting was cancelled due to a leadership meeting for all volunteer groups. I was invited to stick around. What are the odds of God taking me to a place where I had no intention of going just to have me exactly where He wants me. God made it possible to meet new friends who also desire to share the comfort they have been given.

Sitting with other “leaders” I realized we are all the same whether it is a recovery group or not. Out of our blessings from and to God we serve. However, almost no one feels competent or ready. We must only trust God to use us.

God does give us the ability, and He also arranges “chance” encounters that we could never dream of to make it possible to get us in front of just the right people. It is interesting that the word enable is usually a negative action in recovery circles. But today, I am recognizing that God is our enabler in wonderful works of kindness that give others comfort.

As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:6 “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.” (NIV) Why did I go through this distress? I did for the comfort and salvation of others.

We learn in our discomforts that we can only rely on God as is stated in 2 Corinthians 1:9. We can set our hopes that God will continue to deliver us and others as we are encouraged in 2 Corinthians 1:10. We may think we are headed in one direction but God changes our course so we may share with those who need what we have.

What comfort have you received from God can you share with others?

Today’s Prayer: Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ, we praise You for the grace and comfort we have received. Thank You for emboldening and enabling us to give what You have given us to give hope to others. We are praying for boldness to share what You have so generously given to us. In the name of Jesus Christ, we defeat the evil one that attempts to rob us of our stories of comfort. Use us LORD to bring comfort and salvation to those You intend. Thank You for directing our paths. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are praying. Amen.