READ: 2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT
'All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.'
Paul is bursting to address lots of issues in this letter. His relationship with the church in Corinth was a difficult one and he will need to defend himself very strongly in the pages that follow. But he begins by reminding the church about the nature of God their Father in Heaven. He reminds them that he is the Father of Jesus and that he is by his nature merciful. As a result of this he is the source of all comfort.
The word comfort that the translators have used here is an interesting word but not what I would have chosen. Comfort comes from Latin and literally means ‘with strength’, however, the word doesn’t sound very strong to me. It makes me think of someone coming along with their head on one side and saying,” O dear, poor you. I’m so sorry you’re feeling rough.” A better translation for me would be the word en-courage. That is to say, God doesn’t merely say kind words to us but literally puts courage into us.
Paul needed to know where his source of encouragement was. His ministry was incredibly tough. He was constantly stretched to the limit and often faced physical danger and deep discouragement. He had learnt that God was his constant source of encouragement. God literally put courage into him. Our lives might not be as pressurised as Paul’s, but we all need to receive courage. It’s wonderful when people encourage us, but the reality is that their encouragement changes. They have different moods and are busy with different activities and we don’t always see them. Other people’s encouragement unavoidably goes up and down. So we need to be reminded that God is our constant encourager. Whatever is happening he will continue to pour courage into our lives.
QUESTION: In what situation do you particularly need God’s encouragement at present?
PRAYER: Thank you Lord that you are a constant source of encouragement. Help me to receive it and stand strong for you. Amen.

Released on 8 Dec 2020