Day 5: Channels of compassion
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God (2 Corinthian 1:3-4).
O God our Father, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, You are our peace, You are our comfort, You are our balm, You are our solace.
We remember Your words of assurance to the apostle Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). We do not know what Paul's particular challenge was— his thorn in the flesh (vs.7), but many of us have a testimony of Your extraordinary grace—a special, divine sufficiency that amplified our small strength and stopped us from fainting in the day of adversity (Proverbs 24:10).
O Father, those who have known Your comfort gain a new understanding of Your sufficient grace. And because You have designed us in Your own image, with the capacity for love, grace, and empathy, You minister Your compassion to the hurt and the broken through those who have received Your comfort.
Lord, It is the love and support of those who journey with us that encourage and sustain us when our strength is not enough. You bind us together with cords of fellowship and community, and in Your sovereign will and power, You help us endure through the visible and invisible strands of hope, encouragement, and prayer. We see this in the testimony of the apostle Paul:
We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself… But [God] has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us again. On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers (2 Corinthians 1:8,10-11).
Father, as we pray today for Your kingdom to come, and for Your will to be done—as our Lord taught us—help us to be channels of Your compassion and comfort. Direct our hearts, our prayers, our actions towards those longing for peace, deliverance, hope, endurance. Make us the answer to their prayer, and ours.
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