Finding the meaning

When I've gone through my hardest times, when it seemed like I was hanging on almost second to second, I felt a desperate intimacy with God that only comes when there's nowhere else to turn. It was--"Give me an IV of your strength, or I'll never get through this day!" And--"Thank you! I needed that!" throughout the day.

I didn't have time to wonder about the greater meaning or outcome, or even why the problems were in my life. I was hanging onto God for dear life, and feeling his presence in ways you only feel when he's your only hope. It didn't take long after things eased up to see how I could encourage others by sharing from what I learned by surviving serious, life-threatening problems.

But what if you don't think the trials beating you down are glamorous enough? Your daily grind, money problems, a thousand interruptions, time pressures, may seem less severe than a divorce or loss of a loved one, so you may question if you "qualify" to participate in the sufferings of Christ, or find the meaning in your very real challenges.

Look again at 2 Corinthians 1:3,4. God is not the God of some comfort! He is the God of all comfort. He won't pick and choose which of your troubles are good enough to comfort! As for finding meaning in your suffering: it's clear you are to turn around and share what you learn from your specific kind of suffering with someone else. Each one teach one. You have a destiny: to survive this and help others. There's your future and your hope. Or just a part of it.

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 have received from God. 2Cor. 1:3,4