God of all comfort
God of all comfort
When did you last find yourself in need of comfort. When were you last sad?
The last few weeks for me have brought bright splashes of joy. We have been on the countdown to my son Ben’s wedding and I have been on holiday, bodyboarding in sparkling waves amid purple mountains.
But I am conscious of shafts of sadness too. Our beautiful world is broken and we cannot avoid seeing the rule of the Prince of darkness. Rivers dry up and fires rage, the NHS is crumbling, refugees are unwelcome, the cost of living is soaring and discontent is in the air. Stuck in the broken systems are old people with broken hips on long waiting lists and scared parents with plummeting bank balances and across our world, countless numbers are enslaved and millions die young because of war and hunger. And we all have our own griefs to bear.
How precious then that God is the God of all comfort. So how does God comfort us?
Most important, there what I call THE GREAT COMFORT – the comfort that addresses the greatest grief of all, the loss of God. This is existential comfort, addressing the core of who we are – we are set right with God again, all is forgiven, the gap is bridged, the Saviour has come and restoration is in motion. With the first coming of Christ, we are made new people and with the second, we will be given a new world where there will be no more sorrow.
Always, the deepest comfort is the presence of God. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted”. How can that be?! Only if the experience of mourning takes you to a place where you are so profoundly comforted that you are better off than you were before. Only if it takes you to God.
And when we turn to him, we find that he is God of all comfort. It is his title and it is his nature. I have been discovering that he wants to comfort me in multiple ways but I have to receive it. I have to open his word to hear his voice. I have to open my heart to be comforted, trusting that comfort all ultimately comes from his love for me whether it’s through a prayer time at church or a walk on the river or a thoughtful card from a friend. I suddenly realised recently when I was drinking good coffee and stroking the dog that even these are gifts from God to comfort me. He comforted Elijah with hot bread and he wants to tangibly comfort us too.
It is always his way that blessing spills over. God comforts us so that we would comfort others – addressing injustice, feeding the hungry, sending that thoughtful card to a friend.
How does God want to comfort you today? Who might he want you to comfort?
