Gospel-Centered Suffering: Clinging to God Our Sustainer 

Note from Bob: You’re reading Part Three of a new Changing Lives blog mini-series on Gospel-Centered Self-Counsel for Suffering. Read Part One. Read Part Two.  

In Part Two, I explained that the gospel empowers us to face life candidly with Christ. Then I concluded by noting that before we can move beyond our suffering, we have to move into our suffering. 

Admittedly, moving into our suffering, facing it with brutal honesty, can be terrifying. We’d all much rather pretend. But here’s the good news that Paul starts with in 2 Corinthians 1:3-11—we never have to endure suffering alone. Christ is always with us in our suffering and Christians should always be with us in our suffering. Paul says it this way, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” 

Christ Comforts Us in All Our Troubles 

The phrase, “Father of compassion” is fascinating. We can translate it as “Christ feels our pain.” Saying, “I feel your pain” has been used so much in our modern world that at times it may seem fake, phony, disingenuous. Not so with Christ! 

“Father of compassion” echoes Psalm 103:13-14, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” 

Sometimes we picture the God of the universe like Bobby Knight—the former coach of the Indiana Hoosiers. We get hurt and we think God says, “Man up! Don’t be a baby!” No. Our God is a compassionate Father. 

And what sort of compassion? The Greek word means to feel another person’s agony. It was used for sympathetic lament. God laments our pain. God aches when we ache; weeps when we weep. Psalm 56:8 tells us that God records our laments and collects our tears in His bottle. 2 Corinthians 1:3 goes one step further—God mingles His lament with ours. God combines His tears with ours. Isaiah 63:9 says it powerfully, “In all their distress, God too was distressed.” 

To help another person, we need to turn to Christ for help. So, I’d ask you to stop. Ponder some pain, hurt, suffering, agony, or difficulty that you are currently enduring. As you feel your own pain (yes, God gives you permission to), realize that God not only is aware of your pain; He feels and shares your pain. The God of the universe is in pain for you, with you. 

As amazing as it is that Christ actually feels our pain, Paul is not even close to being finished praising God. Paul also tells us that God fortifies us in our pain—God comforts us—He co-fortifies us. Paul uses the Greek word for “comfort” ten times in five verses 1:3-7. Do you think he wants to get a point across? 

Notice, too, that Paul says that God is the God of all comfort. All comfort is sourced in God. The flip side of that is to say that worldly comfort—comfort not sourced in God—is ultimately empty comfort. 

The Greek word for comfort is paraklasis—one called alongside to help and empower someone in a time of need. It was used of a lawyer advocating for a client, of a mother wrapping her arms of protection around her child, and of a soldier standing back to back with a person in danger. It translates into two primary English words—encouragement and comfort. 

Encouragement means to put courage in. God comes along side of us, envelopes us, shields us, and says, “In your suffering and pain, and the fear that goes with it, I am your courage. We will be brave together.” 

Comfort means co-fortitude. I am fortified to keep on keeping on because I do not have to face suffering alone. God stands back to back and shoulder to shoulder with me fortifying me in my suffering. 

This word for comfort always starts with the person in need being willing to call out for aid, summoning help, beseeching rescue. Psalms 34:17-18 tells us, “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” 

Are you hurting? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Weak? Despairing? Defeated? Then cry out. Humbly admit that “I can’t do this on my own. I need Your help.” 

Satan wants us to think that it is spiritual to be above hurting. That’s not spiritual. That’s arrogant. God wants us to verbalize our suffering, our neediness. 

Paul further develops our neediness when he tells us that when we cry out to God, He comforts us in all our troubles. Troubles literally means to press, squash, squeeze. It’s used of the pressures of life that squeeze the life out of us, that crush us. It’s like trying to lift weights that are more than we can manage. When life overwhelms us, when it’s too much to handle, that’s exactly the time when we cry out for help to the God of all comfort. 

The Rest of the Story 

In Part 4 we see how gospel-centered suffering moves from comfort from Christ to comfort from the Body of Christ. 

Join the Conversation 

When you are distressed; God is distressed. Isaiah 63:9 says it powerfully, “In all their distress, God too was distressed.” Are you pouring out your distress, pain, hurt, and suffering to the God of all comfort? 

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth