Sharing God’s Comfort Through Trials

Hope story by Deena Adams

Hunting for Hope in Others’ Stories is the seventh and final post in a series that features a condensed written version of the Facebook Live seven-day Hope Hunt I recorded in May. 

If you prefer the more in depth video version, you can find it here.

 Our Truth

When we hide our truth and keep it locked up inside us, not only do we hinder the healing God wants to work within us, we risk remaining in a depressed and hopeless state. But if we share our pain and how God helped us through a hard time, we open the door for our own healing and for our story to help other people.

I can think of several friends who’ve helped me in my walk with the Lord through sharing their hard story. Can you?

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 is all about how God comforts us in our troubles so we can comfort others. Check it out.

Four Truths from this Passage about our Struggles

1.  The source of all comfort is God. The person sharing their story has no power to offer any meaningful comfort apart from the power of God at work through them.

2.  The reason God comforts us in our troubles is so we can comfort others.

3.  The more we suffer, the more we receive comfort through Christ. And the Bible teaches that what we freely receive, we should freely give to others.

4.  God has eternal purposes in our pain—building His kingdom. 

Paul suffered a lot, right? We can read a list of horrific situations he endured in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, which includes prison multiple times, thirty-nine lashes five different times, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, and more.

I can’t imagine surviving one of those situations. Yet Paul encourages us to use our pain to comfort others who are going through similar experiences.

Results of Extending Comfort

And what results from extending comfort to others who need it? Paul says when we extend comfort to others, they can patiently endure the same things we suffer.  

You know what that tells me? When we obey God’s Word and share our struggles, meaning get real and vulnerable, we build trust with others. That trust builds a bridge for us to tell hurting people about the comfort we’ve received from Christ and how He wants to comfort them and bring them to salvation. 

This kind of transparency tears down walls and opens the way for people to tell their stories and allow God to use them to comfort others. It’s a multiplication effect. 

The Power of Stories

There is such power in stories. 

But the power doesn’t come from you experiencing a rough time and surviving. It comes from what Christ has done THROUGH your story. That’s your testimony.

Our stories matter. Our stories carry power when they’re joined with the blood of Christ. It’s what Revelation 12:10-11 says defeats Satan. But for that to become reality, we must testify and share our story.

That is the goal of my novels and my blog. To share true and fiction stories that lead others to the One who can heal their pain and fill them with hope.

Tell Your Story 

If you have a story to tell that fits a category on my blog and you’d like to share how Christ brought you through it and gave you hope, please contact me and I’ll send you the guidelines for submission.

CLICK TO TWEET: Hunting for Hope in Others’ Stories-Sharing God’s Comfort Through Trials.

Join the Conversation. Has someone else’s transparency helped you through a difficult situation? What scriptures encourage you to share your truth with others? 

Check out this hope story for more encouragement.