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 receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Over the past 32 years of full-time ministry, there have been many occasions when I’ve had to answer questions that begin with: “WHY?”

Sometimes it was easy to see a direct cause and effect, as in someone who smoked all their life being diagnosed with lung cancer.

But when I was asked to explain why the man who had never smoked a cigarette in his life was dying of lung cancer or why the drunk driver walked away from the accident with nary a scratch while the sober one lost her life, it was not that easy. It was downright difficult.

To be perfectly honest, in times such as these I had to admit that I could not really answer that question with any sense of certainty. The last thing a pastor does at a time when someone needs pastoral care is to talk theology or worse get into a debate on theodicy (why God permits evil things to happen to good people).

Sometimes the best answer I could offer was: “God only knows!” Then I would pray to that God who only knows why to give the one who asked the question His strength, peace, grace, clarity or whatever else they needed at that moment. For “your Father knows what you need before you ask” (Matthew 6:8).

However, with the benefit of hindsight, I have also discovered that when a follower of Jesus goes through such difficult situations, there is at least one sure answer to the “Why” question. It may not be readily apparent when someone is walking through the valley, but it becomes plain as you hit higher ground.

Let me illustrate with a man named Rex who I got to know outside church circles. His daughter, who had been barely married for a year, died very unexpectedly when she suffered an epileptic seizure while taking a bath. Needless to say it rocked his life. But, by the grace of God, he and his family came through the tragedy with their faith intact.

Because Rex was a leader in his business organization, he had the opportunity to share his testimony of God’s faithfulness, peace and comfort to thousands of people over the years that followed. Holy Spirit used his testimony to bring healing to many.

A few years later, the son of another leader in the same organization died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack. It was totally unexpected as this young man was a specimen of physical fitness. When Rex heard the news, he hopped on a plane and flew from one end of the country to the other so he could be with his friend Ron and his family.

Now you can see what the apostle Peter is talking about in the verse quoted above. As Rex experienced the comfort of his heavenly Father following the death of his daughter, now he could comfort Ron with the comfort he himself had received.

Dear DWOD friend, this is the unknown reason you should know when you are going through a difficult time or facing a test of your faith. God can use your experience to bring comfort, strength, counsel, companionship, etc. to another person who may be travelling down the same or similar road.

It may not always be easy to remember this when you’re wrapped up in your own pain, as some of you may be right now. But I pray that Holy Spirit will bring this to your remembrance.

For the day will indeed come when the Lord will use you in a way that you could have never imagined. And the person at the receiving end of your ministry will be so thankful—to you and “to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.”