The God Of All Comfort Is For You, Not Against You
The Bible is clear on the fact that God is a Comforter. For example, let us examine this particular Scripture found 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’¹
Blessed be God!
The enjoyment of the comfort of the Lord always begins and ends with praise. God is good and blessed for ever more. We love him because he first loved us. God is worthy of praise and adoration. ‘Bless the Lord oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits’ (Psalm 103:1). ‘Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 2: 14).
‘But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15: 57). Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light (Colossians 1:12). How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him² (Ephesians 1: 3). May our heart sing of the blessedness of the Lord, who is blessed for ever more!
Yes, I know, it is not always easy to praise God in the time of pain or difficulty. But then, that is why it is called 'sacrifice of praise'. Besides, God is God even in times of trouble, right? In reference to the seeming absence of God in the affairs of Israel for 430 year of servitude to Egypt, in his new book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, Eugene H. Peterson wrote, "We need this Exodus validation that a sense of the absence of God is part of the story, and that it is neither exceptional nor preventable nor a judgment on the way we are living our lives...Any understanding of God that doesn't take into account God's silence is half truth - in effect, a crucial distortion - and leaves us vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation by leaders who are quite willing to fill in the biblical blanks which the Holy Spirit never tells us." Sometimes on our journey through life, difficulty or pain may present itself for apparently no reason at all. Even then, God is still God, and worthy of worship and adoration.
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
The One who is our comforter is the same One who loved us so much he gave us his only Son. We can count on him. Why? Because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the act of giving his Son for us, God has demonstrated once and for all that he is on our side. ‘So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?’² (Romans 8: 31-32).
The Father of Mercies
‘Father’ simply means ‘source and sustainer’. God is the source and sustainer of all the mercies we enjoy. ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning’ ( James 1: 17). ‘And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’ (John 1: 16-17). It is out of the goodness and mercy of the Lord that his blessings flow toward us. None of us is deserving of it all. ‘If it had not been the LORD who was on our side’ (Psalm 124:1). Think about that for one moment, where would you be if it had not been for the mercy and grace of our Lord God, the Father of mercies.
God of all Comfort
Hallelujah, he is the God of ALL comfort. What is ‘comfort’? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ‘comfort’ means ‘consolation in time of trouble or worry’, ‘feeling of relief or encouragement’, ‘contented well-being’. Whenever we go through trouble, worry or distress, we count on God for relief, encouragement, consolation, and even a feeling of contented well-being. God cares for us affectionately. And let me remind you that God’s comfort is not merely a pat on the back, but an actual deliverance from trouble. He who keeps Israel does not sleep nor slumber! Rejoice in this thought, that God is the God of all comfort. The situations may differ, the needs may be so much, yet God has the deliverance that you need.
Being a Christian does not exempt us from trial and pain, but it sure gives us the assurance to count on God as an ever present help in time of trouble. The God of all comfort is our God.
It’s Your Turn to Rejoice
Yes, I feel like telling you that it’s your turn to rejoice, and to be glad.
'To everything there is a season…
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance' (Eccl 3:1-4)
‘'For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning’ (Psalm 30: 5). It is ‘morning’, the glorious dawn of a new day. God is wiping away tears from his people, and executing judgment on his adversaries. It’s your day to be blessed. Expect his blessings in full. May the days ahead be some of the most glorious ones you have ever known. Amen.
Reference:
1. All bible quotations, except otherwise indicated, are from the New King James version of the bible, Copyright © 1982 by Nelson Thomas, Inc.
2. Message bible, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.
The Bible is clear on the fact that God is a Comforter. For example, let us examine this particular Scripture found 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’¹
Blessed be God!
The enjoyment of the comfort of the Lord always begins and ends with praise. God is good and blessed for ever more. We love him because he first loved us. God is worthy of praise and adoration. ‘Bless the Lord oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits’ (Psalm 103:1). ‘Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 2: 14).
‘But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15: 57). Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light (Colossians 1:12). How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him² (Ephesians 1: 3). May our heart sing of the blessedness of the Lord, who is blessed for ever more!
Yes, I know, it is not always easy to praise God in the time of pain or difficulty. But then, that is why it is called 'sacrifice of praise'. Besides, God is God even in times of trouble, right? In reference to the seeming absence of God in the affairs of Israel for 430 year of servitude to Egypt, in his new book, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places, Eugene H. Peterson wrote, "We need this Exodus validation that a sense of the absence of God is part of the story, and that it is neither exceptional nor preventable nor a judgment on the way we are living our lives...Any understanding of God that doesn't take into account God's silence is half truth - in effect, a crucial distortion - and leaves us vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation by leaders who are quite willing to fill in the biblical blanks which the Holy Spirit never tells us." Sometimes on our journey through life, difficulty or pain may present itself for apparently no reason at all. Even then, God is still God, and worthy of worship and adoration.
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
The One who is our comforter is the same One who loved us so much he gave us his only Son. We can count on him. Why? Because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the act of giving his Son for us, God has demonstrated once and for all that he is on our side. ‘So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us?’² (Romans 8: 31-32).
The Father of Mercies
‘Father’ simply means ‘source and sustainer’. God is the source and sustainer of all the mercies we enjoy. ‘Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning’ ( James 1: 17). ‘And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ’ (John 1: 16-17). It is out of the goodness and mercy of the Lord that his blessings flow toward us. None of us is deserving of it all. ‘If it had not been the LORD who was on our side’ (Psalm 124:1). Think about that for one moment, where would you be if it had not been for the mercy and grace of our Lord God, the Father of mercies.
God of all Comfort
Hallelujah, he is the God of ALL comfort. What is ‘comfort’? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, ‘comfort’ means ‘consolation in time of trouble or worry’, ‘feeling of relief or encouragement’, ‘contented well-being’. Whenever we go through trouble, worry or distress, we count on God for relief, encouragement, consolation, and even a feeling of contented well-being. God cares for us affectionately. And let me remind you that God’s comfort is not merely a pat on the back, but an actual deliverance from trouble. He who keeps Israel does not sleep nor slumber! Rejoice in this thought, that God is the God of all comfort. The situations may differ, the needs may be so much, yet God has the deliverance that you need.
Being a Christian does not exempt us from trial and pain, but it sure gives us the assurance to count on God as an ever present help in time of trouble. The God of all comfort is our God.
It’s Your Turn to Rejoice
Yes, I feel like telling you that it’s your turn to rejoice, and to be glad.
'To everything there is a season…
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
And a time to dance' (Eccl 3:1-4)
‘'For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning’ (Psalm 30: 5). It is ‘morning’, the glorious dawn of a new day. God is wiping away tears from his people, and executing judgment on his adversaries. It’s your day to be blessed. Expect his blessings in full. May the days ahead be some of the most glorious ones you have ever known. Amen.
Reference:
1. All bible quotations, except otherwise indicated, are from the New King James version of the bible, Copyright © 1982 by Nelson Thomas, Inc.
2. Message bible, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.
Comments