Your suffering isn’t wasted if you understand what God intends to do through it.
Most Christians know God comforts them when they suffer.
Fewer understand why He comforts them: so they can comfort others experiencing similar pain.
Your hardest season becomes someone else’s lifeline when you steward your suffering correctly.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4, English Standard Version (ESV)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
These two verses contain theology that transforms how you view every difficulty you face.
God isn’t just helping you survive your pain. He’s equipping you to help others survive theirs.
The comfort He gives you during depression isn’t just for you.
It’s for the person you’ll meet next year drowning in the same darkness who needs to hear from someone who survived.
This post examines what Paul wrote, why he wrote it, how the Greek reveals nuances English translations miss, and what these verses mean for Christians walking through suffering today.
Why Paul Wrote These Words
Context always matters, but especially here. Paul wasn’t writing abstract theology from comfortable circumstances. He wrote from fresh trauma.
Paul’s Recent Near-Death Experience
2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
“We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”
Paul had just survived something so severe he thought he would die.
Scholars debate what specifically happened (riot in Ephesus per Acts 19, imprisonment, illness, or other persecution), but the severity is undeniable.
According to New Testament scholar Murray Harris, Paul’s language suggests he faced execution-level threat.
He wrote about God comforting in affliction immediately after experiencing affliction intense enough to make him despair of life.
These aren’t theoretical words. They’re testimony from someone who just lived what he’s describing.
The Corinthian Church’s Context
The Corinthian believers were suffering too. They faced persecution, internal conflicts, false teachers undermining Paul’s authority, and questions about suffering’s purpose.
Paul’s letter addresses their pain while revealing his own.
Breaking Down the Verses
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”
Paul begins with doxology, praising God. This is significant. He doesn’t start complaining about what he just endured. He starts worshiping the God who brought him through it.
The word “blessed” (Greek: eulogetos) means worthy of praise. Even fresh from near-death trauma, Paul declares God praiseworthy.
“The Father of mercies”
The Greek word for mercies (oiktirmos) refers to compassion that moves someone to act on behalf of another’s suffering.
According to Greek lexicographer William Mounce, this word emphasizes God’s active compassion, not just His emotional sympathy.
God isn’t distant observer of human pain. He’s Father characterized by compassion that intervenes.
“And God of all comfort”
The Greek word for comfort is “paraklesis,” from which we get “Paraclete,” a name for the Holy Spirit. It means to come alongside someone, to encourage, to console, to strengthen.
“All comfort” is comprehensive. God comforts in every type of affliction. No suffering category exists outside His comforting reach.
“Who comforts us in all our affliction”
“Affliction” (thlipsis) means pressure, tribulation, distress. It’s used throughout Scripture for various forms of suffering: persecution, illness, grief, hardship, opposition.
God’s comfort isn’t selective. He comforts in “all” affliction, regardless of source or severity.
“So that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction”
This reveals purpose. God’s comfort isn’t endpoint. It’s equipment. He comforts you SO THAT you can comfort others.
The Greek construction indicates purpose: God’s comfort to you is intended to flow through you to others.
According to New Testament scholar Paul Barnett’s commentary, this establishes ministry of comfort as part of Christian calling.
“With the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God”
You comfort others with the same comfort God gave you. Not generic platitudes. Not secondhand advice. The specific comfort God provided during your specific suffering becomes the specific comfort you offer someone in similar circumstances.
What This Teaches About Suffering
Suffering Has Purpose Beyond Your Pain
Your depression, miscarriage, job loss, chronic illness, or broken marriage isn’t meaningless. God intends to use it to equip you to help others facing the same pain.
This doesn’t make suffering good. Suffering is result of living in fallen world. But God redeems it by transforming your pain into someone else’s hope.
God Wastes Nothing
Every tear you cry, every prayer you pray in darkness, every moment you barely survive is being stored up as resource for future ministry. Psalm 56:8 says God keeps your tears in a bottle. He values and uses your suffering.
Comfort Is Meant to Circulate
God’s comfort isn’t meant to terminate with you. It’s designed to flow through you to others. When you hoard comfort instead of sharing it, you misunderstand its purpose.
Your Hardest Season Qualifies You
The suffering that almost destroyed you qualifies you uniquely to help others in similar suffering.
Someone struggling with infertility doesn’t need comfort from someone who conceived easily. They need someone who knows the monthly grief of hope and loss.
Your qualification for certain ministry comes through suffering you wish you’d never experienced.
How to Apply These Verses When You’re Suffering Now
Receive God’s Comfort
You can’t comfort others with comfort you haven’t personally received. When you’re suffering, first focus on receiving God’s comfort through Scripture, prayer, worship, and Christian community.
Psalm 34:18, New International Version (NIV)
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Look for God’s Presence in the Pain
God’s comfort doesn’t always eliminate suffering. Sometimes His comfort is His presence with you in suffering. Look for how He’s sustaining you, providing what you need moment by moment, and surrounding you with support.
Remember Future Purpose
When suffering feels pointless, remind yourself that God is equipping you to help someone you haven’t met yet who will need exactly what you’re learning now.
Share Your Story When Appropriate
Once you’ve received God’s comfort and moved toward healing, watch for opportunities to share how God sustained you.
According to research by psychologist Jamie Pennebaker on therapeutic writing, sharing suffering experiences appropriately aids healing for both sharer and listener.
Don’t force your story on people, but when someone faces similar pain, offer testimony of God’s faithfulness during your similar experience.
Stay Humble
Your suffering doesn’t make you expert on everyone’s pain.
Each person’s experience is unique. Offer comfort with humility: “I don’t know exactly what you’re feeling, but I’ve been through something similar. Here’s what helped me.”
What This Doesn’t Mean
It Doesn’t Mean You Caused Your Suffering to Help Others
God doesn’t orchestrate your pain for someone else’s benefit. Suffering comes from living in fallen world. God redeems it by bringing good from it, but He doesn’t author it.
It Doesn’t Mean You Must Share Immediately
Healing takes time. You’re not required to comfort others while you’re still barely surviving yourself. Receive comfort first. Share later when God provides opportunity.
It Doesn’t Minimize Your Pain
The fact that God will use your suffering doesn’t diminish its severity. Your pain matters. Your tears matter. Don’t spiritualize away legitimate grief with “at least it will help someone someday.”
It Doesn’t Guarantee You’ll Understand Why
God promises to comfort you and use your suffering to help others. He doesn’t promise to explain why you suffered in the first place. Some questions remain unanswered this side of eternity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I’m still angry about what I suffered?
Anger at suffering is normal. Bring it honestly to God. He can handle your raw emotions. As you process anger with Him, you’ll eventually reach place where you can receive His comfort. Don’t rush this process.
Do I have to publicly share my story?
No. Comforting others doesn’t require public platform. You might comfort one person privately over coffee. God determines when, where, and with whom you share.
What if sharing my story causes more pain?
Be wise about timing and audience. Share with people who’ve earned right to hear your story through relationship and demonstrated trustworthiness. You’re not obligated to share with everyone.
Can I comfort people facing different afflictions than mine?
Yes. While your specific experience qualifies you uniquely for certain situations, God’s comfort you received has broader application. Principles of His faithfulness apply across different types of suffering.
What if my suffering was caused by my own sin?
God still comforts in affliction even when you caused it through poor choices. Once you’ve repented and received forgiveness, God can use even self-inflicted suffering to help others avoid similar mistakes or find redemption after making them.
How long before I can help others?
There’s no timeline. Some people minister from fresh wounds. Others need years of healing first. Ask God for wisdom about timing. When He brings someone across your path who needs what you learned, you’ll know.
Prayer During Affliction
Father of mercies and God of all comfort, I’m in affliction right now and I need Your comfort desperately. Come alongside me in this pain. Sustain me when I feel like I can’t endure another day. Give me Your presence, Your peace, and Your perspective. Help me receive comfort from You through Your Word, prayer, worship, and people You place in my life. I don’t understand why I’m going through this, but I trust You’re with me in it. I believe You don’t waste suffering and that somehow, someday, this pain will help someone else. Until then, just help me survive. Give me strength for today. Remind me You’re near to the brokenhearted. Hold me together when I’m falling apart. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
Theological Sources
Barnett, P. (1997). The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [Biblical Commentary]
Harris, M. J. (2005). The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Eerdmans Publishing Company. [Biblical Commentary]
Mounce, W. D. (2006). Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Zondervan. [Reference Work]
Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Opening Up: The Healing Power of Expressing Emotions. Guilford Press. [Psychological Research]
Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. NavPress. [Bible Translation]
Strong, J. (2010). Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Hendrickson Publishers. [Reference Book]
