Life can be so so hard at times. Times of great loss. Painful times. Crushing times. Paul writes to those who have experienced great “afflictions.” The word speaks of great pressure. Crushed. In days of old, in England, when trying to get a confession out of a man they would have him lay on his back and place two boulders on his chest and the pressure of the boulders would crush the individual. The pressure was so so great he could not do anything to help himself. People know crushing, to varying degrees. Heartache. Broken-hearted.”But God…” has a PROMISE of Comfort for the Crushed! He has a Promise of Comfort for you!
Who does God Comfort?
The Scriptures show that He comforts those who “mourn,”-{Matt 5:4}; those “who walk through the valley of the shadow of death,”- {Psalm 23:4}; Those who despair of life, -{2 Cor 1:8}; Those who are depressed.-{2 Cor 7:6}.If you have never “mourned,” “walked through the valley of the shadow of death,” tasted “despair,” or been “depressed,” you are not a candidate for His comfort. But since we all somewhere in our lives have tasted one if not all the above, we are all candidates for His comfort. That is the good news. The GOD news!
How Does He Comfort?
He Comforts Through Himself – “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion on his afflicted.”-{Isaiah 49:13}; “Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. “-{Psalm 89:17}. “I, I am He who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass, ” -{Isaiah 51:12}; “You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.“-{Psalm 71;21}; “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.“-{Matt 5:4}. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”-{Psalm 34:18}
He Comforts Through His Word -” This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your Word has revived {preserved } me.“-{Psalm 119;50} The NLT translates it,”Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.“; “Remember Your Word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your promise gives me life. The insolent utterly deride me, but I do not turn away from your law. “-{Psalm 149:49-51}
His Word is His means to comfort, strengthen impart courage to you. His Holy Spirit illumines and guides you into all truth.-{Read John 16:13}
He Comforts Through His Love – “Let your steadfast love comfort me according to Your promise to your servant. ” -{Psalm 119:76}. To be the object of God, not His wrath but His love is a precious thing.
His love is Everlasting,“The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.“- {Jer 31:3}.
His Love is Unbreakable. “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” -{Romans 8:37-39}.
His love is Great; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).“-{ Eph 2:5};
His Love is Continuous; “…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood…” -{Rev 1:5}
He Comforts Through His People – “But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus;”– {2 Cor 7:6}. “Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received ]instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him); and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me.“ -{Col 4:10-11}. The Greek word translated”encouragement,” here was used of medicine that relived pain. They were to him as medicine that eased his pain! How comforting and kind of God to raise up people to get to Paul and meet him.
THE MINISTRY OF COMFORT;
God Promises Comfort to you in your time of crushing for He is “The Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.” He has all the comfort you need. You can never exhaust his comfort or compassion for you. Paul begins with Blessed or praise, speak well of The God and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. In their time of crushing Paul tells them to Focus on Praising Him. he refers to His Character and then says God will comfort them and out of His comforting them he then commissions them to comfort others who are afflicted. “who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”- {2 Cor 1:4}. Note the phrases, “So that you will be able…” You are not only authorized, qualified but have the ability to comfort others with His comfort in “any affliction.” Note he does not say we have to have experienced the exact same experience. Sometimes people say “Well, I can’t help them as I have never gone through that,” And that attitude is so so wrong and you miss out being of service to Him and others who are crushed and need comfort. It says “any affliction.” Once you have experienced “crushing,” and experienced His comfort you are now able to comfort others with His comfort. God works all things for good to those who are the called and love Him…to make us more like Christ but also to use us as Christ’s comforters to those who are afflicted, crushed and in need of comfort.
Your pain, sorrow, can be part of His working all things together for good. Even now someone who is suffering, crushed, does not know that GOD has already prepared someone He will use to comfort them with His comfort. And that SOMEONE IS YOU.
God Promises to Comfort you and is Preparing you to Comfort others.