Life is tough. Sink or swim. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

We hear these messages and convince ourselves that it is a strength to be able to just keep pushing.

At some point, reality hits and we realize that we don’t actually possess the strength to always move forward as if our pain, difficulties, or worries didn’t exist.

We all need and desire to be comforted. We want someone to join us in our pain and lighten the load.

Sometimes our pain seems too great for us to bear, but in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, we are reminded that no situation is too big for God. He is the one who draws us close to Him, offering comfort in His presence. It doesn’t mean that our situation will necessarily change, but our state of mind can.

While comfort comes from God, it is also a strength we are to possess, according to this verse.

When we spend time with God, we are transformed into His likeness, which means that we, too, can extend comfort. As a Christian community, we are supposed to support each other and reach out to the broken around us. When we rightly find comfort in God’s presence, we are then able to fulfill our call to serve others and extend the comfort we have received to them as well.