Day 235, Year 1

Humble People Receive God’s Comfort Easily

“But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” (2 Corinthians 7:6 NASB)

“Depressed” in today’s verse, tapeinos in Greek, is also the word for “humility.” Today’s verse reminds us that there are three ways to head toward humility.

First, do not run away from difficulties. Instead, pray for God’s grace to come upon you. People who run away from pain often have one or more addictions. To balance the discomfort brought by a depressed mood, some people find ways to avoid difficulties by engaging in behaviors that provide satisfaction. But then they become addicted, such as disordered eating, various games, or internet addiction, etc. Contrarily, honestly confronting troubles often humbles us. Humble believers acknowledge, accept, and do not run away from any difficulties. We are determined to solve them and always ask God for help, including asking Him for patience, wisdom, and strength to conquer the difficulties.

Second, avoid using human ways to solve problems. When facing toils, people are often hasty to solve them. This can lead them to mistakenly attempt to resolve problems using their own understanding or human ways. This is like Abraham’s mistake of accepting his servant Hagar to bear him a child, which instead brought troubles to his family and descendants. But of course, there is nothing wrong with Ishmael himself. So, we need extra patience in the midst of difficulties, restrain ourselves, and quiet our hearts to seek God’s help and His way out. Paul mentioned how he felt “depressed” when experiencing “conflicts without, fears within” (2 Corinthians 7:5b NASB), but he did not run away from the problems he encountered. Instead of relying on human effort to solve problems, he looked to God for help.

Third, pray, discern, and receive God’s comfort and help. The first half of today’s verse could be translated as “But God, who comforts the humble.” He is always the comforter of the humble. If He comforts His people directly, it is good. But if He uses other people, such as Titus in the verse, some people might think it is not good. Paul, as Titus’s leader, received his comfort in turn. Hence, we can see that followers also have a spiritual responsibility to help leaders. In fact, God establishes the church on earth in the hope that believers will help each other, including conveying His comfort to leaders. It is likely that Paul felt God’s comforting message and power from Titus’s encouragement. Thus, as a follower, you should not underestimate your role, for God can use you to help the leaders, too.

Reflection questions:

1) Are you used to being patient and praying to receive God’s help and comfort in times of difficulty? If you are struggling in this process, what would you do to overcome it?

2) If the Lord Jesus asks you to help or comfort a leader, would you be willing to do so? Why?