6 Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
6 Nevertheless God,
These two words show how God can change the situation for any believer. God sovereignly intervenes in circumstances. Paul leaned on God through all his troubles. There was never a time when God was not present in the believer’s situation, and neither will there ever be.
who comforts the downcast,
This verse harks back to 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, which expresses how God comforts believers under duress. The crisis at Corinth brought Paul low. “Downcast” means downhearted. Paul was “downcast”; that is, depressed. His depression was related to the trouble in the Corinthian church.
comforted us by the coming of Titus,
God comforted Paul by Titus’s report that the Corinthian church responded well to his rebuke. The apostle recognized that Titus’s report was no mere human event only; it was a sovereign act of God. God used Titus as an instrument of comforting Paul.
PRINCIPLE:
God cares about broken relationships among Christians and intervenes on their behalf.
APPLICATION:
A broken relationship is painful to everyone, whether splintered friendship, shattered marriage, or rebellious children. When a church is encumbered with broken relationships, the congregation is in profound difficulty. However, to watch broken relationships restored is truly a blessing, especially to pastors.
God intervenes for the “downcast”; that is, those beaten down by the circumstances of life. God specializes in consoling that kind of person.
