"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 may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" - 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 .
No peril, discomfort or suffering is ever welcome in our life. If we can escape their inconveniences and stress, we can do much without them. But the fact is we do have them, some much more than others. Apostle Paul talks about his own suffering, which is not few nor light by any means, with a kind of positive perspective that's refreshing. Since we can hardly escape the negativity of life we may as well find some bright spots in it. For him it is this: that God delivers from perils and after our own discomfort we are enabled to give comfort to others with the same comfort which we ourselves received from the Lord. What a mighty thought that is. It is the very demonstration of what the Apostle also said that everything works together for good for those who love God and are called for His purpose.
Come to think about it. God is hardly the kind of god that we can accuse of getting his kick out of hurting people. If anything, He sincerely desires our good. But in pursuit of our good it seems that He also needs to allow pain and suffering. And He does. Some people like Apostle Paul clearly sees this and never lose their faith nor their hope. It would be wonderful when we too will never waver and doubt, least of all diminish in nor lose our faith when discomfort comes. We can always bank on this: that the God of comfort is much nearer to us when we are in our pain and grief than in any other point in our life. Those of us who are in a time of our peace can do more by remembering those who are afflicted in our prayers so that when they're finally delivered thanksgiving can abound to God.
