All In The Family
By Bill Herried
Everything is better together
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 receive from God. —2 Corinthians 1:3–4
One of the reasons I love following Christ is that he deals with the hard realities of life. The Cross is confirmation of that.
Following Christ isn’t merely numbing ourselves against life—or denying reality. He is a refuge; A place to rest and heal.
Everyone experiences the pain of difficulty in life. But not all recover.
When you walk with Christ, he brings all the resources of heaven to your side: forgiveness from the past, strength for today and a bright, bright hope for the future.
And more than just “The Supreme Being,” Jesus reveals God as Father—the Father.
The kind of Father we’ve hoped for our entire life.
He is not only present in seasons of difficulty, He knows the way through every season. And when we’re too exhausted to move forward on our own, He carries us.
He is a good, good Father.
And in His wisdom, no hardship is ever wasted. Because we often experience the same kinds of troubles that others do, hope glimmers even in times of seemingly senseless difficulty.
He comforts us so we can be a source of comfort to others. This kind of empathy only comes out of personal experience.
Nothing is wasted.
He comforts us so we can be a source of comfort to others.
Hope. Help. Healing. This is the beauty of life in the Family of God.
Bill Herried is lead pastor at CenterPoint Christian Fellowship in Tacoma, Washington. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and Master of Divinity from Corban University in Salem, Oregon. He is married to the most extraordinary woman on the planet. Together they have 3 adult children and 4 grandchildren, and he loves a good biryani. Bill invites you to learn more on Your Daily Encouragement
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Hebrews 2:10 says through suffering the Son was made complete/perfect. Paul wanted to know the fellowship of His suffering and I Peter 2:21 says we should expect to follow in His footsteps. Some recent life changes, one the end of a career and the other medical, have provided opportunities to reflect my Dad’s faith exemplified through trials to my own children. Some things apparently are only learned through hardships that drive us to our Father’s care and have the ability to somehow help “perfect” our life in Christ. This agrees with James’ statement to “Count it all Joy” when facing hardship and to ask God for wisdom in those moments. These times are “teachable” moments to our next generations. Thank you for your article. It provoked thought!
Amen! Thanks for sharing! God Bless!
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. And because we know what is coming, God’s Kingdom, we can truly count it all joy.
No wonder we call them precious promises.
Thank you again.