Date: 03-31-2020

Title: God’s Comfort in Affliction

(S) cripture:
    2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NASB77) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 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.

(O) bservation:
    Paul is opening his second letter to the church in Corinth. He does so by encouraging them with the words of God’s comfort. This was a troubled church and many needed to hear these words and to have this exhortation to comfort others with the comfort they had received from Christ.

(A) pplication:
    Today we are facing a pandemic like nothing we have ever faced in our lifetime. People are scared and lonely and unsure about the future. I read this morning a thought that said, “The church is not empty, it is deployed.” We as the church have a great opportunity to impact our world by simply being the people God created us to be. We are comforted by God so that we can offer that same comfort to others. This morning I head to our Food Pantry and in a very real way these workers are sharing the comfort of God with people in tangible ways. I pray that they are kept safe from the coronavirus as they express the comfort of God with the hungry of our community.

(P) rayer:
    Father, today I ask that you keep our food pantry workers safe as they share your comfort with our community. I ask for your strength as I minister to those you have given to me. I want to share with them the comfort that comes from you in times of affliction. Amen