2 Cor 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort….
The last sentence of Max Lucado’s _Grace for the Moment _ today was a real zinger: “You will never be called upon to give anyone more grace than God has already given you.” This line, coupled with today’s scripture from a different devotion, has me thinking about the nature of grace and comfort, what is given to us, and what is asked of us. Help me, Jesus.
2 Cor 1:4a …who comforts us in all our troubles….
The nature of grace is unexpected. You expect punishment, you deserve punishment, but the punisher deliberately chooses not to punish. That’s grace. Comfort has a similar unexpected nature in that it can either come at an unexpected time or from an unexpected source. God freely and lavishly gives us both grace and comfort and asks us to freely and lavishly give them to others as well, without reserve and without reservation.
2 Cor 1:4b …so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for undeserved grace and unending mercy. Thank You for comfort in our time of need and for the compassion that comes from being on the receiving end of grace and mercy. Help us to freely give to others, Lord, just as You have freely given to us. Draw us closer. Amen.
2 Cor 1:5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
Have a blessed day.
My faith, my life, my teaching–it's all a work in progress.