DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- GOD'S COMFORT

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – GOD'S COMFORT

"Blessed be he God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (II Corinthians 1:3-4).

Today, we are considering God's comfort. I know it goes without saying that comfort means ease. To comfort someone is to bring some rest or ease to their hurting body, soul, mind, or spirit. The opposite of that is dis-ease.

If there was anyone who needed comfort, it was the Apostle Paul. He was attacked by Jews and Gentiles, and experienced much physical suffering. But his testimony was that He was comforted by the God of all comfort.

But I want to suggest that the comfort he needed was more than for physical pain. His discomfort was also in the spiritual realm. Paul had a special love for the Church at Corinth. He had spent perhaps 2 years in Corinth on his missionary journeys (Acts 18). He had poured his life and soul into the Church at Corinth. So he was distressed in his spirit when he heard what was happening in the Church at Corinth.

So he wrote a letter – which we know as I Corinthians -- to address some of these problems. He had heard reports that there were divisions and sectarianism in the Corinthian church; that there were moral problems in the church – incest to be precise. Not only was the Church was not addressing the sin; they were tolerating it and were boasting about their tolerance. He heard that believers were taking one another to court; that they were abusing the communion celebration; that they were misusing spiritual gifts; that there was confusion concerning marriage; that there were misunderstanding about the doctrine of resurrection. What a church!

Sometimes God's comfort comes through other people.  Paul was comforted when he heard from Titus that they had heeded the counsel of the first letter, and their sorrow that had caused them to repent (7:6-12). This brought rest to Paul's spirit. As he wrote later in this letter, "Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort" (7:13).

Paul could comfort others because of the comfort he had received. So as God has comforted us, we can comfort others. God is the source of all comfort.

Jesus gives us His comfort. Just before he went to the cross, He said to His disciples who were distressed, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You believe in God; believe also in Me." The greatest comfort we can know is the assurance that our sins are forgiven through our faith in Christ and that He is preparing a home in heaven for us. The turmoil and dis-ease of a guilty conscience can be relieved, and we are comforted as we confess them to Jesus and receive His forgiveness. Now that is pure comfort.

Love, Dad