Good good Father #1
Paul endured some tough moments on his missionary journeys. He was flogged, mobbed, arrested and even stoned and left for dead. A veteran of suffering, he now writes to the Corinthians to share some of what he has learned...When we are struggling to "Keep Going" the starting point is to remember who God is. Our security does not come from our strength or our circumstances, but from our conviction and knowledge that He is God and He is good.
How does Paul describe Him?
- He's God. Sovereign and mighty. Although He has given us free will and our exercise of free will can cause heartache and pain, God holds trouble on a leash and promises that we will not go through more than we can bear. (See 1Cor10:13 which we considered last week...)
- He's our compassionate and comforting Father. When we go through trouble and pain, His heart is with us. We can receive awesome comfort from God, but we have to get past our indignation that that demands "Why did You let this happen?" and learn to say "I don't understand why this has happened but I know I need Your help."
- He's the Father of Jesus. Father and Son suffered incredibly when Jesus died on the cross. But still the Father sent Him and Jesus trusted the Father enough to go to the cross. And at the cross our pain was fully known and carried...
- His comfort is so powerful that we can become wounded healers. We can overcome our pain and help others. That is God's transforming comfort.
| Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 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. (2Corinthians1:3-4) |
