Daily Devotionals

May 13th, 2022

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 MSG  

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. 

When I have faced challenges in my life it has comforted me when I found someone who went through the same experiences as I did. I no longer felt alone. Some of my best friendships have come from moments when I decided to turn to a trusted person for encouragement. 

It is common to want to keep our struggles silent. We fear we will be judged if anyone were to know. The reality is that the silence keeps you captive to your trials and vulnerable to the persuasions of Satan. In contrast, when you allow God to work through your struggles by allowing those painful experiences to be openly shared, something beautiful happens. You are freed from their grip on you, and you are now perfectly equipped to encourage others who are facing a similar pain. 

So, how does that look in our lives? By remembering we “can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Phillipians 4:13 NKJV). It is then that we realize we are not alone. What a powerful moment when we are able to let another person know we are there for them, truly understanding their struggle. We get to spread God’s love which He first shared with us. This allows us to step into God’s glory here on Earth, lessening the pain, ours and theirs. Consider Christ’s words to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” and Paul’s response “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). By seeing the obstacles in our lives as an opportunity to build relationships with others, God’s mercy and purpose for us is revealed.