Comfort is when God holds you in His everlasting arms.
“The God of compassion and all comfort Who comforts us in all our troubles.” 2 Corinthians 1:3 NIV.
My thoughts and comments today are about, “Comfort and Comforting.”
Life comes with challenges. The Bible is always direct and honest. “When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance.” Read James 1:1-5 JBP. In Christ, problems are not apart from grace and your pain is not without purpose.
When challenges come, comfort is a necessity not a luxury. Comfort comes in many forms – a simple, sincere word of care or note of encouragement, an arm around your shoulder, a reassuring word, a sincere and understanding smile, a friend’s expression of concern, an understanding glance, or just the quiet company of a friend. In the best of all forms, comfort comes from God and His Holy Spirit. Jesus promised, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name.” John 14:26 KJV.
When you have seen a Mother hold and comfort an ailing child or calm and reassure a frightened child – sometimes by her words, sometimes by her touch, or just by her presence – until the crying stops, the child settles, and rests safely and quietly in her arms. In those moments, you have seen God’s comfort. Comfort is found in the loving touch, or the kind and encouraging words, or the quiet, compassionate presence of a friend. If you have entered the pain of a friend or felt the fear another feels, you have offered God’s comfort.
That’s a practical and tender picture of what God does for any child of His. God comforts them. I have watched elderly saints struggling with pain that no medication seems to help until God invisibly takes them in His arms and whispers words of peace and assurance. I have witnessed a graveside where hearts ached and tears flowed, until God Word touches broken hearts and they begin to heal. It is very true, “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV.
Jesus comforted His disciples when He promised, “And I will pray to the Father and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever . . the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name.” Read John 14:16-18 KJV. I find it reassuring that Jesus described the Holy Spirit as, “the Comforter,” variously translated as, “Helper, Counselor, Encourager.” Comfort is much more than something God does; the Comforter is who God is. Holding you in His everlasting arms, God is the practical and tender picture of comfort.
You may have seen this warning label on a package, “Fragile, handle with care.” Life can be painful. People can be fragile. God handles people with tender, loving care. You and I should do the same. Life will hold its share of bumps and bruises. When life is uncomfortable, when difficulties multiply, when problems overwhelm, when your heart is breaking, when you think you cannot make it through another day, that’s when you need to receive and embrace the God of all comfort.
God’s comforting you has a purpose well beyond yourself. You are comforted to be comforting to others. God will not let your pain be without purpose. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our trouble so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.“ 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV.
Today, I pray for you to experience God’s ample care and comfort.
Christian Communications 2017-5259
Website and archives: allenrandolph.com