Today we begin Paul's second letter to the church in Corinth, and he starts with his typical greetings with Grace and Peace. Then he makes an interesting statement to be able to bless others as God has blessed him in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and 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 God." In other words, Paul wants to do for those in Corinth what God is doing for him.
Paul had gone through tremendous prosecution and found comfort in God during that ordeal. He knew first hand what God can do in these situations, and he knows that God uses these situations for His glory; see Romans 8:28.
God lets these hardships happen to us for the same reason He let them happen to Paul; so we can empathize with others when they are in the same situation. If we've not had the experience of sickness, death of loved ones, hardships in life, etc., then we won't be able to "feel the pain" of others when they experience them. If we can't feel that pain, then we can't claim we know what their going through and we won't have received comfort from God which then prevents us from giving the same comfort to them. God allows these things to happen in our lives so that we can glorify Him to others when the same things happen to them.
So when bad things happen in your life, glorify God for the opportunity to receive His comfort and to have the experience and spiritual growth that comes from it.
Blessings to all
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