“...so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we
ourselves have received from God” ~ 2 Corinthians 1:4 (NIV84)
Sitting on a little patch of squashed-down weeds, under an Elm grove, behind my mother’s vegetable garden, my older sister and I met weekly for our Secret Club. We called it the Good Deed Doers Club — I know, go ahead and roll your eyes. We were about six and eleven and from what I can remember our club meetings consisted of writing a list of helpful things we could do and taking a collection of the weekly ten cent dues. I have no memory of following through on our deeds, nor do I recall the funds ever being put to use, so perhaps I should yet call for an audit of that club account which was held suspiciously in the hands of the eleven-year-old.
Those are the types of Secret Clubs children create while waiting for life to usher them into other Clubs. Eventually we all enter into unique clubs of one type or another — some by choice, others by force. Some are a delight, some are formed from trials, some are public and some are more secret.
I’ve been in the Pastor’s Wives Club for over 40 years and still belong. I was in the Homeschool Mom’s Club for 26 years — I think that earned me a life-time membership. For the last eight years I’ve been in the Motorcycle Drivers Club and have a card to prove it. But now, I’ve suddenly become acquainted with a new Secret Club that I really didn’t pay much attention to before — the Breast Cancer Club (BC Club, or just C Club).
Suddenly women from the BC Club approach me out of the blue and we form an immediate connection. They have something to say, a special way of encouraging me. Just this week a woman whom I had never met (but we have a recent acquaintance) drove from Boise to chat with me for an hour during my infusion and bring me a bag of extremely thoughtful and useful products. Why? She’s in The Club. The Club creates a natural sense of belonging. But there is one more aspect beyond just belonging — God put an inner drive in us to comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received.
Here’s how the Apostle Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV84):
“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 have received from God.”
I think it’s baked into our soul to be useful to others. When we have received comfort from God in a particular area of life we are compelled to turn around and invest in others.
You’ve probably passed through many Clubs in your lifetime — some secret, some not-so-secret. You may have been in the Singles Club for a season, the Unemployed Club, the Newlywed Club, the Launching a Business Club. Some of those clubs last only for a season.
But there are other clubs that last a lifetime, or affect us for a lifetime — having a Special Needs Child, Losing a Child, Widowhood (even if you remarry). There is a secret club for parents of prodigals and an even more special club for parents of substance-abuse prodigals. There is a tender club for those who have been abused/abandoned by the ones who promised to love them. If you have found yourself in one of these secret clubs, your first instinct was probably to look for the door and get out of the club. That’s not always possible. But what is possible is to find the comfort of the Father of compassion, who comforts us in all our troubles. Once we tap into God’s comfort in our Secret Club we are not only comforted ourselves, but we are able to partner with the Lord in bringing comfort to other members of The Club. And they need our comfort — especially when they first walk through the door of the club!
My encouragement to you is; don’t waste your pain — make the best use of whatever Club you’re a member of by comforting others in that Club.
As for me, I’m still ‘riding The Train’ on schedule. There is a sleeper car on this train and it’s quite effective. If there is such a thing as beauty sleep, well, I’m likely to come out of this ten years younger! Paul and I are taking a short local vacation with our trailer for the rest of the month of May since we have some family graduation festivities that we’re looking forward to. So if you don’t see us again until June 2nd…no worries…we’re just doing normal things.
Blessings to you all,
Sue