The Overflow...

Fred :: I have been reading through Paul's letters to the Corinthians lately and it has been interesting to see the many issues that were facing the church in Corinth.  Divisions, immorality, and disputes about spiritual gifts plagued the church there...I'm glad those problems aren't apart of churches today.
     This weekend, I found myself being overwhelmed by the transition in location and ministry that is upcoming.  I found myself needing to be reminded of God's comfort because life is about to get really uncomfortable for us.  I was in that place when God's word spoke right into my life:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

      The discomfort or any suffering that the Christian faces in this life is the overflow of the sufferings that Christ faced.  No one said this was going to be easy.  But in the same sentence that declares, "brace yourself" is the great promise of "embrace" as God comforts us through Christ.
     The comfort we receive from Him ought to overflow to the others that we come into contact with, so that we may comfort them.
     I may have found a new favorite passage.