Yes and Amen (2 Corinthians 1:1-11, 20-22)

Most of us probably know the feeling that accompanies the expression, “When it rains, it pours…” This feeling was not lost on the apostle Paul as he penned his second letter to the Corinthians. Paul had been through it. He’d been in prison, severely flogged, and exposed to death again and again. He spent a night and a day in the open sea. He was in danger in the city, in the country, and at sea. He had labored and toiled and often gone without sleep and food; he was often cold and naked. And if that wasn’t enough, false “teachers” claimed Paul was inadequate and cast doubt on his teaching and rumblings grew throughout the church that Paul couldn’t be trusted. While we may not ever have been imprisoned or beaten or shipwrecked, we do know what it’s like when the rain starts pouring and it seems like the storms of life will not relent no matter what we do or how hard we try. Paul reminds us that the comfort we experience from God and share with others fully strengthens us to endure the surging storms we face. And when we choose to be present in the midst of another’s pain—we embody God the Comforter who has chosen to walk through with us in order to bear the brunt of our surging storm. And in doing so, we will come to see the promises of God answered with a resounding “Yes” and “Amen.”