Duckhorn, John: Helping Each Other ~ 2 Cor 1_3-8

Good morning. Open to second Corinthians, please, chapter one. I'm here in second Corinthians chapter one, I'd like to read a few verses, and just right off, what I want to do this morning is talk about trials. I want to talk about, um, some of the reasons why God puts us through testings. There are a lot of reasons, but Pete, um, Paul gives some here that are very important, and, uh, it might help us as we help one another and encourage one another of the things of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's read second Corinthians chapter one verse three. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds to Christ. Now, if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation or comfort in salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you are partakers of sufferings, so you will partakers of, uh, the consolation. Verse eight: For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we have the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raised the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver, in whom we trust he will still deliver us. And you also, helping together in prayer for us and thanks, may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. Let's pray. Father, help us this morning as we think of this portion of scripture. Help us to understand, um, the depth of it and understand what it means to us. We know there's some truths here that the Apostle Paul is giving that are for all believers and every generation, every place in the world, and we ask you to guide us in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, part of the epistle of second Corinthians, second Corinthians is dealing with the fact that Paul is trying to, um, combat some slanders that have come against him. Some things have been said about the Apostle Paul, and he's refuting some of these slanders which have been heaped upon him, and much of the letter is vindicating his character. That's one reason why it's so important to read, and that's one reason why it's been said many, many, many times. I've told young missionary candidates and others, become familiar with Second Corinthians. Second Corinthians is important. It also focuses a lot on Paul's personal life, his personal trials, his, um, personal sufferings, the things he went through, and how the Apostle Paul has a way of, of looking at everything that is going on in his life, seeing God in these things, and understanding how God uses those, and then uses those in other people's lives. So, while he's vindicating himself, one of the things he keeps bringing out to the people is, look, if you want to know my true character, if you want to know the truth of, of who I am with all the attacks against me, I'll lay out for you all of the things that I've gone through and how they glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, his vindication of his character. But there are a lot of trials, and Paul talks here about trials that came to him, verse eight, in Asia. Now there are more. But of course, when he says in verse eight the trial came to him in Asia, this was one in Asia that was very bad. If you read verse eight, you see that it was burdened beyond measure, above strength, so we despaired even of life. Now, whether this took place in Ephesus, as some think in Acts twenty three, or wherever it took, took place, the Apostle Paul was brought to a place where he was sure that he was going to die. In fact, he had been brought to a place where he despaired even of life. In other words, there's no way out of this except by the work of God. There's absolutely no way I'm going to get out of this unless God does something. So he brings that out as a point and a place where he learned not to trust in himself, but to trust in God. But there are all kinds of trials, there are all kinds of things, and I'm speaking generally. Our congregation has had many things the last couple of years with sicknesses and other things, but there are health problems that it's a trial to some of us, especially if our health problem gets to the place where we, where we realize we're not going to, to get over this sickness. It may be deadly. And there are, are job problems, um, people looking for job, people perhaps losing job. There are many personal struggles we have, things we never say to one another, inward struggles we might have in regards to some form of temptation, some form of doubt, some form of things that we're wrestling with, personal things in our lives. Um, who we are, you know, people in midlife often look back and, and feel kind of trapped. I'm this age, this is the job I have, I'm not going to get anything better, and they feel kind of trapped, and even trapped spiritually. And then, of course, lives are upset. These things upset lives, they upset our routines, they, um, defer our hopes, and make it harder for us to see how, how the things that we hope for, um, will be realized. And of course, it makes our, our future a little bleak. But there's all kinds of things that test us. And the Apostle Paul doesn't assume in this chapter that you have to have been brought to a point of death. He doesn't assume you have to have the exact same problem of going through the exact same thing in order to understand the truth that he wants to get across to us. But he is saying that in our trials, God has a way of working and comforting, and God has a way of meeting our needs in Jesus Christ in such a way that it becomes not only a blessing to us, but a blessing to all the people around us. And this is something very important. There are many reasons for trials, but one of the reasons here is that we might become a channel of blessing. That our lives, as God deals with us, and as we learn, and that means we have to learn, and as we learn and allow God to deal with us, we find that it can become very effective in the lives of people. So the responsibility, um, has something to do with our being able to know what God is doing, and our being able to, uh, bless other people. I'm sorry for the distraction. Is there feedback? You seem very loud. I'm getting feedback in my hearing aid. I'm sorry to distract you. Being depths of pain. All right, let's, let's look at this chapter a little bit. Um, in verse three, he said, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some translations say praise, and I prefer that. Sometimes the word blessing confuses us. Sometimes, uh, we'll say, you know, may the Lord's blessing be upon you, and the Lord blessed us. Now here he's talking about blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the NIV and a few translations say praise, and I prefer that because it helps us, um, focus almost immediately without having to go through great word definitions to see where this word blessed fits in. But he said, let- let's change it. Blessed, praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He's praising God for some things in this verse, even before we get started, even before we get started thinking about trials, even before Paul gets started in talking about what he's gone through and what God has taught him, he says there's reason to praise God, and it's the foundation. So we begin here, praise be the g- um, to God. We praise him for being God, and we go back and we think of what he is, what he has done. Now, he's created the world and done marvelous things, but we go back in the past and realize what he's done for us. The book of Romans starts out by saying the gospel of God, verse one. Then later on in chapter one, it says the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, reminding us that this blessed good news comes from the heart of God, and God is the, um, the, the author of it. So according to the scriptures, he, Ephesians, he's chosen us in Christ, through our faith in Jesus Christ, to be blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. And those things are true. And the Apostle Paul is praising him for being God, and he's praising him for being, um, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He sees us through Jesus Christ. When he sees his son and his son's death on the cross paying for our sins, and we believe he sees us and his son. And as he loves his son, he loves us. And as he accepts his son, we are accepted. So Paul is praising God, and he's praising the Lord Jesus Christ, and then he praises him for being the father of mercies. Now, sometimes the scriptures talk about the multitude of mercies, and I think it is, it is good for us to think about this, the Father of all mercies. The Bible speaks so many times of the abundance of his mercies. I've kept, I've kept some journals when I was a missionary. I don't keep them much anymore. When I die, they're burned. But was, as I've gone back and realized and looked back, I can see in my life many, many, many places where at the time it didn't strike me that God's mercy was there, but I saw it. I see it now. There are three or four places where I realize now that I could have almost died in a moment or two. But also his mercies in fighting some temptation, his mercies to me when I could have made some decisions. There are three or four times as I look at into my journals, and I see that I was put in a place where I could make a decision, and I made some decisions. And now I look back, I think, boy, that was a good decision, Ducky. That was a good decision. His mercies displayed to us and not letting us fall. His mercy displayed to us in confusion when we don't know what to choose. His mercy displayed to us when we've made a decision, and it looks like it might be the wrong decision. And of course, his mercy displayed to us in the person of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross in our place. And then also, not only is, uh, the God of mercy, but he's the God of all comfort, all comfort. So Paul establishes before he even start talking about trials, that he's a God of comfort, comfort that, and this word comfort means to come alongside. Actually, in the original language, it's the same word where we get this word that we use all the time, paraclete, the comforter will come, somebody who draws alongside. And it means more than sympathy. Um, it means someone who actually draws alongside to involve themselves with you. I can give you sympathy. I can go visit you while you're sick or in trouble and give you a moment of sympathy and say I'm sorry, and I can walk away. But the one who draws close involves themselves, an advocate. And so where he, when he says he's a God of all comfort, it means in our trials he draws next to us to meet our needs, to work in our lives, to, um, encourage us. He's not being harsh with our trials. He's not being, um, um, disciplining us in a sense of driving us away. These trials are means of showing us how God works in our lives, drawing close, and it's important to remember this. Now, he uses, and I'll go into some detail a little bit, but he uses, of course, the word of God to comfort us. As I read the Word of God, I read verses and thoughts and my relationship to Jesus Christ, and I'm comforted in the thought that God has control of my life. Um, he comforts us through the work of the Holy Spirit. In John chapter fourteen, he talked about, I'll give you the Holy Spirit, another comforter who will be with you forever. The Holy Spirit had been supplied to us to open the word of God and open our eyes and help us understand. He comforts us through the, the person of Jesus Christ. In First John two one, he said, my little children, these things are right to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Now, first off, he knows people cannot be. Right? But our goal is to live a life that honors him. But when we do sin, when we do sin, we have an advocate, one who intercedes for us, one who's drawn next to us, and he intercedes for us in regards to our sins, um, because he has died for our sins and paid the price. So even in our failures, we have one who draws alongside. So we find comfort from the word as we read it, as the Holy Spirit opens the word of God to us. We find comfort in the Lord Jesus Christ. We also find comfort somewhere else, and I think this is important. Go to this book, Second Corinthians chapter seven verse six. All right, nevertheless, it says, God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus. Now, I want you to think this through. There are implications here. Earlier in this letter, Paul is going to say that he's disturbed, that he's upset, that he's under tension because the people in Corinth are accusing him of things and creating so many problems for him, and that he feels that they may not respond properly to the things he said in his first letter. He's under great stress, and he sent Titus to Corinth, and Titus is to go to Corinth and take a look at the situation and to do some teaching and come back and tell Paul about what's happening in Corinth. And Paul didn't go personally. I've said this before many times. He didn't go personally because he knew if he went, it would create more problems. Sometimes it just agitates things more. So he sent Titus. I always refer to Titus as Paul's gunslinger. That may be a little phrase, but the cowboy. He's often sent into difficult situations. And he sent Titus, and Titus goes. And over here in seven six, it says, God who comforts the downcast comforts us by the coming of Titus. Now the implication is this. Wasn't Paul reading the scriptures before that? Wasn't he finding comfort in the scriptures? Of course he was. And what about the Holy Spirit? Wasn't the Holy Spirit in between, um, Titus is going and Paul meeting Titus? Wasn't the Holy Spirit meeting his needs? I believe it was. And yet Paul says something very significant. Titus comforted him. We human beings, having the work of God through us, are able to meet one another's needs and encourage one another. Now, of course, Paul was looking to to the Lord in the Word. I'm sure he was thinking of the scrolls. I'm sure he was thinking back to the Old Testament, what God was doing. And I'm sure he believed that the Holy Spirit was there meeting his needs and encouraging him. But it was words of Titus that brought the final comfort to Paul. It should not be overlooked in this book that Paul is saying we just have God meet our need by being alone. We need one another. And when people are going through certain trials and stresses, they are looking at the Word of God, they are looking at their relationship to Jesus Christ, they do believe the Holy Spirit is their teacher, but many, many, many times, the thing that really helps us then is God speaking to us through other people. And we need, we ought not forget that, because as I said before, I want you to understand, Paul was comforted by the coming of Titus, and it certainly doesn't mean he wasn't comforted by his relationship with Jesus Christ. It certainly doesn't mean he wasn't seeking God's will and understanding for the issues. But when Titus came, and Titus gave him the good news, and his coworker came and said, Paul, I've been over there, and there's, they're doing all right. There's a bunch of jerks in the congregation. They'll never, they'll never get off your case. But here's what I see what's happening. See? And Paul is comforted. See what Paul is saying the first part of this, this chapter about trials. There are many reasons for trials, but one of them is to help other people, to encourage other people to be useful. So if you come across someone who's going through some sort of trial, whatever it might be, and you find that they're struggling after a period of time, do not assume that they're not reading God's word, and do not assume that they're not looking to God for help. Offer your insight, offer your help, offer your comfort. We minister to one another. And it's very important to me that, that this be seen and understood in our lives. I, I know in the lives of Dan and Bruni in Albania with all of the, the problems, and so many of the problems are foolish. We were having lunch the other day at our house on Friday, talking about things, and I'm not going to tell you what Dan said, but Dan said more about some of the problems, and it made me, made me laugh. Is this what missionaries spend their time doing? And I l- I laughed. In fact, then it almost turned to anger, thinking, what a waste of people's time and money to send people out to be worried about certain things like that. And when he tells about the intrigue between the different missionaries, it's crazy. These two guys don't get along, but then they get along in a bit, uh, regarding women not wearing slacks, even though they don't get along. So they, all of this stuff that is a waste of time in church planting. My view. See? So, um, all of this, and they need encouragement, and they found it through Ron Young. We need to pray for Ron Young. We need to encourage Ron Young. Maybe once in a while we can, we can send Ron Young an offering. But they found it in Ron Young, another missionary who's gone through the same thing before the Kellers came, who just took a liking to Danebury, warmth, the compassion, and volunteered to encourage them, and is doing a lot of encouraging, helping them settle down, giving them a place to serve, and encouraging them. Someone who's gone through something. Now, maybe I'm saying more than I, I should, but I haven't told you many things, but, but it's been an encouragement for them. And Ron Young was going through much of this years before Dan Abbruni came, and he reached out to encourage him. So, um, Paul reveals here, verse four, who comforts us in all our tribulations that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble. True servants, true Christians, sufferings are for others. The things we go through are for others, um, to be prepared to comfort others, to be pre- prepared to help them. Um, you and I decide certain things in the Christian life. One, we will have testing. These testings are of God. All right. He will work in our lives through various difficulties, and the ultimate goal is that we might be a channel of blessing to other people. But that means, as I said in the beginning, it means that I have to take his ministry to me first, that I have to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to my heart first. If I don't get it, then I have nothing to give to somebody else. So it's very important, um, that we understand that. So, um, you and I must have certain attitudes about problems. One, first of all, he's the God of all comfort. I mentioned that. That's an attitude we must have. He's the God of all comfort. He's in this thing for a particular reason, and it's not to be harsh, it's not to leave me flounder, it is not to destroy me. It's there to draw next to me. Um, he knows what we desire. He knows our needs, and he knows things don't happen by chance. Now, they look like they happen by chance, right? Um, we live in a, a, a crazy world, but everything's in the sovereign hand of God. That's hard for us to understand. That's hard for us to grasp, of course, but everything's in his hands. So he knows what we desire, and uh, we trust ourselves to his wisdom. We trust ourselves to his working. We trust that he will work things out in our lives. The other thing is, not only does he know what we need, but he desires to enter our lives. Here's something, people, that we miss. Sometimes when we read the scriptures, there's what scriptures often call the still small voice. We read something and a thought passes over our mind. We hardly recognize it's the Holy Spirit because it's so gentle, so easy. It, it tells me about something about myself, but it's so soft, so easy, and it just crosses my mind. We don't take it as from the Holy Spirit because, well, it just didn't seem to be that way. But here's what God has to do. He has to use circumstances. Circumstances might be the best teacher we have outside the word of God, taking the word of God and applying the circumstances. And he uses testing and trials. They do not happen by chance, and he wants to enter our lives, meet our needs, and speak through us to the comfort of other people. So we find comfort and, uh, experience with him, and suddenly our lives become kind of a deep well from which we just seem to be able to draw things for other people. Sometimes when I have little to share with other people, I often wonder if my heart has become dry and unresponsive to the thing. So Paul was willing to be afflicted in order to be a bearer of comfort to other people. And of course, when he took the gospel out, it was that. The gospel was misunderstood. In the Roman times, in our times, the gospel is misunderstood. And Jesus Christ died on the cross for sinners, and he died in our place so that we could have new life, eternal life, and find our lives have more meaning in this world other than just the normal routine we go through. The other thing we need then, if God is the God of comfort and he comforts us in our trial, is we need a proper attitude about trial. In John fifteen twenty, the Lord said, a servant is not greater than his master. If they misunderstand me, they'll misunderstand you. If they malign me, they'll malign you. If they crucify me, expect them, expect them to give you trouble. The servant is not greater than his master. Attitude in trials. And here's some of the things. A wrong attitude shuts out his comfort and shuts out his strength and really closes their lives to be useful for other people. So the first thing then you and I need here is to open up our lives as he deals with us, and that's hard. If we're losing our health, we have to put our, our focus upon the resurrection and focus upon eternal life and, and make our hope alive. If we've lost our livelihood, we have to understand to take care of us and that he may be, um, he may be testing us about particular attitudes. If we have other kind of problems, many other problems. It's time to sit and do what the psalmist said. And when I think of Paul in chapter one verse eight, despairing of life, um, even to the point of thinking he would die, I wonder if he was thinking of Psalm thirteen. You know that psalm, how long, O Lord? Say, how long will you hide your face from me? How long, O Lord, will my enemy triumph over me? How long, O Lord? And he's looking, he's looking for some comfort and some help. So our attitude's important. Our attitude is really important. One of the most important things to do in our testing is to sit down and say, search me, O God. And this world has a lot of, a lot of things that go on in it that are beyond our ability to control. And yet we know that God is in this. Just day after Christmas, the tsunami, what, one hundred forty thousand people were killed. Created great discussion. It created some statements in newspapers about God that were really blasphemous. But these were people, their lives were upset. Suddenly people died. Good people, bad people, Christians, non-Christians, you name it, people died. And when Christians tried to offer some biblical comfort and encouragement, many people in the media almost mocked it. But here's what they see God as. They see God as kind of a mechanical engineer. He designs it, the world. His job is to design it, get it functioning, and make sure it keeps functioning. He's a mechanical engineer. That's all they see. But according to the scriptures, there's something important. Not only did sin, when it entered the world, touch our lives and make us need... What happened when sin entered the world? The creation also was touched. This world is not what it is intent going to be, and we're not what we're supposed going to be. Sin touched everything. And Romans eight talks about it. The creation groaned and prevailed. Paul sees the creation, volcanoes and storms and killings, and he sees this whole creation groaning and travail. But behind it, he sees God, and he understands that sin, as it entered the world through man and men and women, it entered the world through Adam and Eve, sin has touched everything and corrupted everything, and Jesus Christ redeems us and gives us new life, gives us hope. So a proper attitude is very, very important. He is personal. He's working. He's involved. He's alongside. He knows how to meet my needs. And when I've been in trouble, as I've read some of my journal, once in a while I go back and read them. I've seen a heart cry in some things. Lord, I just don't get it. I, I'm ready to walk out of here. I need some help. I need some insight. But knowing that he's, he's alongside me. So a proper attitude. Another thing is, of course, we provide comfort for others. It is the thing that we're, we are able to do. We're not to hoard what God gives. We provide comfort and encouragement to other people, and, uh, here's how we do it. This is my personal opinion. As I go through testings and the Lord Jesus Christ deals with me, touching areas of my faith, everything has to do with my faith. And as I began to work on my life, I began to understand how he helps me and works with me. And then I began to understand how he helps people and works with them. Let me give an example. If I understand my own struggles, I sit down and I understand my own heart, my own struggles, and then I see somebody else struggling. I see them struggling with issues. They may not be the same issue. And I begin to realize how long it took me to understand. How at first I blamed it on others, or I blamed it on circumstances, or I blamed it on whatever. But when I begin to understand his patience and his care and his work and how long he struggled with me to see a truth. Suddenly it opens my heart, I'm compassionate toward other people. The person who has no compassion, perhaps there's many reasons why they have no compassion, but the person who has no compassion doesn't know their own heart, as far as I'm concerned. They don't understand the depth of their own being and what can happen to them. So, we comfort others when we understand how long it took us to understand, to find comfort, to find victory. And so we allow people have room to grow. I say this because in whatever may be going on and whatever may happen among groups of people, needs, there's a need many times for patience and understanding how God works. Um, when I think of my reoccurring battle, I won't be proud or impatient. When I think of I struggle with things and, and find help, and then a year or so later I find myself letting down, I begin to realize how it's a constant living and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. So I think one way we, we find through our trials is we understand our own struggles, how long it took us to find victory, the discouragement we feel in our own hearts, our reoccurring battle. About the time I think I have victory over something, as we say, victory. I find it coming back, perhaps in strange ways and strange circumstances, and I find that I have to deal with it again, and it allows me to have patience and consideration for other people. If you and I aren't interested in others, maybe we won't really learn a whole lot through our trials. Another thing he mentions here is that, verse seven, our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of suffering, so also you will partake of consolation. Another thing it brings is hope. Hope. And the hope comes through Paul. We all need hope, a sense that there's some meaning, a sense that there's some purpose, a sense that God is working. Hope. And I like this, because it's our hope for you is steadfast. We believe that hope as we look at your life and what will take place steadfast, because we know that as God has met our needs, he will meet your needs. And we are encouraged by, by what God can do. Another thing, verse nine, is, that's interesting. We have the sentence of death on ourselves, that we should not, what? Trust in ourselves, but God who raises the dead. Very important point. The point is, Paul said, if I die, if in one of those riots in Ephesus I actually die. I will be raised from the dead. Jesus Christ is raised from the dead, and he sits at the right hand of the Father. And the resurrection is, uh, is an important hope for us. So if I would die, but he said we have learned not to trust in ourselves. He reminds us of our utter helplessness many times, especially, I suppose, in health problems. I haven't had serious health problems, but I know with my hearing, utter help- helplessness. I sense this morning you had a good Lord's Supper. I have no idea what was said. See, none whatsoever. The helplessness, but it may come in health, it may come in job, it may come in temptation. And, uh, that we do not trust in ourselves, but in the one, um, who has delivered us. In verse ten, who's delivered us from so great death and does deliver us, in whom we trust he will deliver us. He's delivered us in the past. We trust that he will keep delivering us, but one day, if he does not deliver us from death, he delivers us from this fallen creation. And there will be, we are transformed, and we are raised, and we are reigning and ruling with Jesus Christ. One more thing, verse eleven: you also helping to gather in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. Giving thanks for what other believers are doing and other believers' contributions. Now, I don't know, I wrestled this week. You know, I've been traveling, and I wrestled. And I might say to you this morning, I brought two sermons. See? Because I wrestled with clarifying my thoughts, and sometimes that takes place. And I came with two sermons this morning. I pulled one out of the briefcase. Not that I think this is good, but I pulled it out. I just... I want to say something. I don't know if I'm going to be able to get it across. And so there's been a struggle on my part to get across to you the depth of the need to help one another. As Titus helped Paul, but that can only be done if we will let God help us. And letting God help us as individuals means we must let him get to the depth of our souls. We must let him get into the depth of our lives and meet our needs so that we begin to see, I see it, I know it. Jesus Christ is my savior, and he's my Lord. And he said, I will never leave you or forsake you, and I know he is faithful. So these are the things basically I wanted to say. There are many reasons for trials. One of them is that we become channels of blessing, and in order to be channels of blessing, we must allow God to deal with us. We must find him comforting, strengthening, give us hope, meeting our needs. And that means we have to open up. And then after that is done, we might find ourselves far more fit to draw next near to people and share with them the reality of Jesus Christ. God puts us through these things to make himself real. To take us out of theory, to make us real in spiritual life. And I love those terms. Paul was comforted by Titus. He had been comforted in God, yes, and he knew his salvation in Jesus Christ, yes. And he was comforted through reading the scripture, yes. But when Titus came, it was the comfort, that word, that news, that brought real rest to Paul's heart. Thank you, Father, for your word. You know what, Father, what I want to get across this morning, and I ask you that God the Holy Spirit will take some of these messed up thoughts and apply them, so that we understand how much we need one another and how much we can do for one another, but we have to allow you to do it for us first. We have to open our hearts and understand that you are the God of all comfort. That you've drawn next to us, and as you meet our needs in Jesus Christ, then we find that we become channels of blessing to others. Speaking not theory, but reality. Thank you, Father, for sending your son to the cross, that when sin entered the world, the- this creation was even touched by it, and it will be made new, and we will be made new. And thank you that Jesus Christ died for our sins in our place, taking our penalty, taking our curse, that we may have hope and know that you are God of all comfort. We see tragedies in the world instead of becoming bitter because we cannot understand, accusing you of things because we don't understand. As believers, we come before you and thank you for your love and mercy in Jesus Christ. And we know that you are the God of all comfort. Thank you for your love and mercy to us in Jesus' name. Amen.