This is an outline for a teaching I did on May 24th. I basically wanted to talk about how "affliction" or pain, especially emotional turmoil, is something that God, first of all, wants to bring us through - then how He gives us the ability to help others through the same things.

+ Alan

We all go through it at some time or another. It's not something you're going to escape.

Relational pain in specific.
Self-torture as well in the areas of 'unworthiness," "condemnation." and "guilt."
Perhaps the loss of a loved one.

These are all examples of PAIN that we go through - things that happen to us or that in some way perhaps, that we pour upon ourselves. It doesn't matter - it still hurts.

I'll focus on relational pain - pain that we go through as a result of either relational difficulties or personal setbacks. This seems to be the most common turmoil that we go through - the most common to us all. You may not have a great many tragic things happen to you - but we all go through some pain, usually very deep pain, in connection with another person - because of relationships.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow. If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement.

Affliction yes, but also encouragement. Suffering overflows, but the encouragement which lifts us back up overflows as well. This encouragement thendoes something for us - IT ENABLES US. It enables us to ENDURE the suffering.

God not only simply encourages us when we're down, He enables us in that encouragement to go further. Anything He does in and for us always goes farther than it seems like at first. He enables us not only to go through our own affliction but also to help someone else at a later date with the same help He gave us!

Paul the big-shot Apostle tells of his own affliction, and that of the other big-shots who were with him. Why do you think he did that? I think he wanted to bring this thing home to the people in Corinth (and to us) - that even the "highest" among us go through crap that seems so hard you don't even want to live any more.

1 Corinthians 1:8-11 – We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction that came to us in the province of Asia; we were utterly weighed down beyond our strength, so that we depaired even of life. Indeed, we had accepted within ourselves the sentence of death, that we might trust not in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. He rescued us from such great danger of death, and will continue to rescue us; in Him we have put our hope that He will also rescue us again as you help us with prayer, so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift granted us through the prayers of many.

That's hard core! Paul went through that - "despairing even of life." Makes you feel like not so much of a dork, doesn't it? Think that's why he wrote that? I do.

He also goes on to spread encouragement from his own situation, hoping that we'll catch that hopeful attitude.

"He rescued us from such great danger of death, and He will continue to rescue us..."

"...as you help with us with prayer..."

Wait, he's not alone. He drags us in on his success too. It's not just "him and Jesus," or even just the leadership group pulling through becasue they're so cool. It's the whole body - the whole community pulling together. He brings it around full circle at the end, showing us how the whole body of believers works together. And that is what the bulk of this is about as well - that we are encouraged by God in our afflictions - not just for our own peace (although that does come) but also He enables us to encourage someone else when they're going through it. And even when we're out away from the community, doing something, we still are connected through prayer - we are always supporting one another. Jesus lives in us all, not just in a few, and to fully experience His Life we must experience it in community.

Be ENCOURAGED.

Be ENABLED to ENDURE.

Be ENABLED to ENCOURAGE.