What to do when life hurts

       For Sr. High this year we are going through the book of 2 Corinthians.  2 Corinthians is a fascinating book in which Paul is attempting to convince the believers in Corinth that he is truly an Apostle and that what he has spoken to them is the true Gospel.  A group of people in Corinth have been spreading rumors and lies about Paul and changing the Gospel message that Paul taught to the Corinthian church.  Paul in his attempt to convince the Corinthian believers of his authenticity does so by time and time again in this letter speaking about what God has done through all of Paul's suffering, struggles, and weaknesses!  Paul makes it clear this is not about Him, but about the powerful God who has worked through him in unbelievable circumstances to do the unthinkable.
       As we were studying the first fourteen verses of chapter one theme came across.  The theme was this: when going through difficult times.... Run to God and Run to God's people.  You see clearly that when suffering comes into our life we are to run to God.  We see this in verses 3-4, "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."  We also see this idea of run to God in 9-10, "Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened so that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.  On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us."  Did you see in those verses that we are to run to God, cling to Him, depend upon Him when we face difficult times.  He is the Father of ALL compassion and the God of ALL comfort.  He is the one who raises the dead and the one who delivers us.  When life hurts run to God and hope in Him.
       These verses also reveal to us that when life hurts we not only run to God, but we should also run to God's people.  We see this in verse 4, "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."  Did you catch that?  When any Jesus follower goes through a difficult time and they receive comfort from God they have now been equipped and trained and prepared to offer and give God's comfort to others.  Pain and suffering is a part of life and many people have walked through that pain and suffering and received God's comfort.  Go to those people because according to this verse they can offer to you the comfort of God Himself because they have experienced that comfort in their life.  We also see this idea in verse 11, "You also must help us by your prayers."  Paul wasn't telling the Corinthians believers if you feel like it, or if you think about it, or if you get around it your prayers would be nice.  Paul says YOU MUST HELP US BY YOUR PRAYERS.  Paul understood the role of prayer in suffering and because of that he called out to God's people and said, you have to help us by your prayers.  When you are suffering and life hurts call out to God's people and tell them to call out to God on your behalf in prayer.
      If life hurts right now.  If you are going through a painful and difficult experience I want to encourage you based on 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 to run to God and run to God's people.  Run to God and run to God's people.