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1 Paul, apostle of Jesus Christ by God's will, and the brother Timotheus, to the assembly of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia.

2 Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and [the] Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassions, and God of all encouragement;

4 who encourages us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to encourage those who are in any tribulation whatever, through the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged of God.

5 Because, even as the sufferings of the Christ abound towards us, so through the Christ does our encouragement also abound.

6 But whether we are in tribulation, [it is] for your encouragement and salvation, wrought in the endurance of the same sufferings which *we* also suffer,

7 (and our hope for you [is] sure;) or whether we are encouraged, [it is] for your encouragement and salvation: knowing that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so also of the encouragement.

8 For we do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, as to our tribulation which happened [to us] in Asia, that we were excessively pressed beyond [our] power, so as to despair even of living.

9 But we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not have our trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;

10 who has delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver; in whom we confide that he will also yet deliver;

11 ye also labouring together by supplication for us that the gift towards us, through means of many persons, may be the subject of the thanksgiving of many for us.

 

 

When I was a young boy, my Grandfather would take me and my sister on walks. One of the trails we would walk on had a bridge that crossed a small stream. And like most bridges, this one had a handrail that was about waste high to my Grandfather. But it was about head high to me and my sister could just reach the top with her hands.

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My Grandfather wanted me to walk across it! I was kind of nervous. No. Actually I was scared. I wasn't going to do it. It was dangerous. But when I turned around to look at the railing, a pair of hands picked me up and stood me up on the railing! 

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Terror!!! But I could feel his hands around me and I thought. "This isn't so bad. I can do this." And I started walking. After a few steps, he stopped holding me and I held onto his hand. Then I let go of his hand. I was doing it. I could do it on my own! I felt like the king of the world!

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Suddenly, something happened that rocked my world. Or maybe I should say my railing. The railing that I was walking on was indeed rocking!!! And it was my Grandfather that was rocking it!!! And then I was falling!!

 

I started to cry out, but before I could make a sound, I felt those arms around me. And I held him with all my strength. He laughed and laughed. And without realizing, I started laughing too.

Those arms; how could I have doubted they would hold me? But why did he shake the bridge? Why couldn't he have just let me walk along on my own?

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Years have passed and now I can see a few reasons why he shook the rail:

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1. I started trusting too much in myself. (verse 9) I know now that if I hadn't fallen then, I would have thought I could do it by myself. And if I had fallen alone,without my Grandfather I would have been lost. If God "rocks your railing" it is to teach you to rely on, no, to have total dependence on, His great wisdom and steadfast love.

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2. I told my sister that when it was her turn to walk the railing she could depend on Grandfather. Who can understand the loss of a loved one? Who knows the feeling of a broken heart? Who knows the misery of living with loved ones who have become an addict? Who knows what it is like to be lonely?

It's the one who has been in these trials and felt the arms of God holding them. (verse 4) Better than anyone else, you who have been through these experiences, can comfort those who will go through them.

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3. That we might learn to give thanks for all things.(verse 11) God is drawing us closer to Him in the times He "rocks the railing." And what a wonderful place to be!!!