MORNING MANNA          2/18/20

I just read a message from a fellow pastor on how he profited from his father’s sudden death. I’m not talking about profiting as in an inheritance. I’m talking about what he gained from his grief, what he learned from his loss. Immediately I began to think about how I felt when my mother and father died. And I thought about others going through similar experiences. I want you to think about it. Think about how you will feel when what you hear others talk about is here – when their experience becomes your experience.

We often see others suffering and hear their stories about their difficulties, but we can’t really understand until we are going through it ourselves. Although we never really know how the other person feels we can gain some insight about it. And that can be a great help. As a result of it we ought to be better suited to minister to others. In other words our misery can become a ministry. That’s what Paul is talking about in 2 Cor. 1:3-11. He tells us that we who have been comforted ought to become comforters. In other words, when we’ve been though it we should help others get through it.

Several years ago an elderly woman in the church told me the former pastor “had not suffered enough to be a good pastor”. Knowing the man I had to agree with what she said, but I kept my opinion to myself. Although he was not to be blamed for his lack of suffering he was to blame for his attitude toward those who were suffering. I mention this to remind you that we can gain from our grief. Our burdens can become blessings by helping us to be of help to others. As we look back and think about how “the God of all comfort” comforted us in our time of need we need to look around and think about how we can comfort those who are in need. – HDS