God, Who Comforts the Depressed...

2 Corinthians 7:5-16

5 For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. 8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— 9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God. 13 For this reason we have been comforted.

And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14 For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth. 15 His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. 16 I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.

It is interesting to see the many different reactions to working as a hospice chaplain! Most people usually respond with “there’s no way I could do that!” Dealing with suffering, grief, dying and death is not usually ranked high on one’s list of potential careers and that is understandable since it is hard to confront mortality and often difficult to find words to say to people dealing with so much pain. Still we find ourselves in situations where people are hurting all around us if we will only open our eyes and choose to see it. The good news is that God is the one who comforts! Sometimes He gives us a privilege of being used by Him to be like a pencil as Mother Theresa once said, because we are just the vessel He uses to get HIS message across. In 2 Corinthians we see a real glimpse of the suffering that the Apostle Paul endured. In chapter 2 verse 5 he admits that “our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within.” Even Paul dealt with times of discouragement and depression. He had to deal with the conflicts and the fears of his own life and ministry.

Every family will have relationship conflicts, people have to deal with daily conflicts that burden them in their workplaces, marriages and even in their churches because we are all sinful people who are prone to be selfish and needy. Every individual has their own set of problems, sometimes in life they are more intense such as when illness, financial problems, divorce, or death hit home, but there is pain in every life.

Paul explained some great truths to hang onto in this passage, not only for our lives but as we reach out to be the hands and feet of Christ to others. First Paul shared how God helped him personally in v. 6, “But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” Titus was the pencil God used to get the needed love and comfort to Paul! Look around you, has God been trying to write to you through people in your life? Has He sent them with encouragement, prayer, or even just their presence as they quietly love you? Second, Titus was blessed because he was willing to be that pencil! Paul goes on to say how Titus was comforted to in the process in v. 7, “and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you,” because Titus was affected by the other believers concern, the way he saw God work in all of it to help Paul, and how God worked through all the hard stuff in general. Titus saw people’s lives impacted through being sorrowful as they saw a need for Christ and came to repent too. This had to motivate Paul and Titus in ways that spurred their work forward for certain.

Lastly, Paul said “besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.” We are meant to be used to help refresh through God but in turn we also get to be refreshed!

The God who comes to comfort the depressed is still at work. He may be working through people you are taking for granted and not even seeing His hand behind it, He may be using you to refresh and encourage others and yet in the process you receive comfort, refreshing and blessings of seeing His power too. In the hardest places, or the darkest times it is hard to feel His presence. Sometimes that is why He provides extra arms to surround us through others who are His vessels. Praise Him today if you have that support, and praise Him today if you are someone being called to embrace others for Him!