Afflictions - 2 Corinthians 1:1-12

I have to go into this remembering that the tone of this letter is much softer than it was in 1 Corinthians. But even without all the hard-hitting doctrine, this is still really hard for me to get through. Maybe it’s because I’m kind of out of it today, but Paul has a very unique and difficult to understand writing style. Paul starts out introducing himself and Timothy and wishes grace and peace to the people “from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ… the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.” The article about this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com quotes Marion D. Hanks as teaching, “He waits to be gracious! He loves to be merciful!” The first time I read something like this it was perspective changing for me because at the time I thought that God was like every other man I’d ever known, uninterested, “my way or the highway” types. But hearing that he had good things that he wanted to give me, and that he was excited for me to have them, showed that he was in fact not disinterested but wanted me to be happy.



God comforts us in our trials, “that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” I’ve always struggled with the concept that my suffering is necessary so that I can help other people. But it’s more of a matter of the fact that suffering is going to happen no matter what because that’s the world we live in, but my reaction doesn’t have to go the way of bitterness. I can take what has happened to me and turn it into wisdom so that I can help others who are enduring similar things can be aided by my experience. But advice and comfort doesn’t just come from adversity, it has to come from God. There are many people who suffer hardship and end up bitter or cynical, and don’t get me wrong, I experienced that too for many years and in fact I still do sometimes. But by turning to God for comfort, he has been able to slowly teach me and help me gain a healthier perspective.



The IM quotes Elder Orson F. Whitney as teaching, “to whom do we look, in days of grief and disaster, for help and consolation?... (We look to) men and women who have suffered, and out of their experience in suffering they bring forth the riches of their sympathy and condolences as a blessing to those now in need. Could they do this had they not suffered themselves?... God has suffered far more than man ever did or ever will, and is therefore the great source of sympathy and consolation.” This is why support groups are so important to healing a lot of times. People naturally look to others who have had their same trials to be comforted by and build up each other. The words and advice are powerful when they come from someone who literally knows exactly what you are going through. We can comfort others in the way that God comforted us.



This phrase that God has suffered far more than we ever will was interesting to me. Paul said in his next verse “for as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.” This is one of the reasons why it was so important that Christ suffered for not only our sins but our afflictions too. I don’t know if it would have been possible for him to only atone for our sins because our sufferings were caused by sin, either on our part, someone else’s, or Adam’s because of the fall. But if he had a choice, and in the scriptures it seems to imply that He did, he choose to suffer our trials and infirmities so that he could properly “know how to succor his people.” So it’s not just that he wanted to know exactly what to do to help us through our trials, but he wanted us to be able to help others through their suffering in the same way.



Trials and hardships are just so that we can relate to other people because at some point, that stops being a good enough reason. But Paul tells us that “it is for your consolation and salvation.” This is like when Joseph Smith was in Liberty jail and Jesus told him that “all things shall work out for your good.” This was kind of a tough lesson to hear because it makes our suffering seem so casual and no big deal, when in fact, for us, it is the biggest deal. But God’s not being dismissive when he says this, he truly means it. He knows just how serious our suffering is, how much distress it causes us, and he still is able to say, “this will be worth it.” That’s a tough lesson to hear, but it also gives meaning to the suffering, which is vital important for endurance. Paul promises that we, or the saints in Corinth, won’t be left alone in our suffering, that if we suffer for Jesus’ sake, then we are entitled to his consolation.



This is where Paul starts to get personal, talking about a time in Asia “that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despair even of life.” He was about to give up, he was having difficulty remaining motivated to stick to his position in the cause of Christ. But when he was in such a depressed state, he was able to remember “that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” They were preaching of Christ, the one who was raised from the dead after three days. That had never happened before, that was undeniably the power of God, and Paul had seen Him, and he knew that God knew it as well. He decided to stick to the faith and continue to work in the cause of the one who had power to raise men from the dead. He decided to take comfort at God’s hand and trust in Him to deliver them.



It wasn’t only God’s love and comfort that got them through the persecutions, but “ye also helping together by prayer for us.” Paul and his companions had been strengthened by the prayers of the people for them. The IM quotes Jeffrey R. Holland as saying, “Not one of us could serve without your prayers and without your support. Your loyalty and your love mean more to us than we can ever possibly say.” Again, this is a concept that I struggle with because I don’t want my blessings and comfort to be reliant on any outside person. I want what God wants me to have and I don’t want anyone else messing around with my blessings. But it seems like that isn’t the case and while I believe that blessings come and go on the Lord’s time table, I think back to the times when people have told me that they were praying for me. What did I think when they said that? I felt special, I felt like I was worth their time. I felt their concern for me. But the question is, what if they didn’t tell me? How would I have felt the power of their prayers in my behalf if they didn’t say anything to me about it? This is an interesting concept that I will have to think more about.