But to the truly hungry believer it is a positive comfort to be assured that God knows everything about us; He knows the very worst that can be discovered.
Confident Faith
When we can truly see Him Who is invisible, loss of worldly things count for naught. When we can trust Him with every day of our life, lack of earthly comfort hold little dread. Afflictions are borne more easily. Temporary sorrows are made to work for our eternal enrichment. Short-lived discomforts and distresses are a spring-board to heavenly joy. The world is dying. The world is doomed to destruction. The word is passing away as a vapor and holds no security.
You are accepted in the Beloved. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, Who has loved us and given [us] everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17. For you are accepted in the Beloved…
The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3).
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them who are in any trouble, by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God (2 Cor. 1:4).
A Divine Person
The Holy Spirit is equal in power, glory and understanding to the Father and the Son. He is fully a Person – a Divine person with a perfect will – emotions and intellect. We actually have Deity living inside us to lead and to guide – to help and to comfort. The Creator of the universe has chosen to make you and me His personal residence.
Zephaniah tells us: “He will be silent in His love.” Spirit to spirit communion:- “yet He answered her not a word…” But as we rest in His love – as we sit silently before Him and worship at His feet, He will bring that comfort and peace that only springs from resting in Him.
Comforting Words
And so He comforted them with some precious words of comfort: Let not your hearts be troubled.
Indwelling Holy Spirit
He didn’t explain that first much had to be done in the coming church dispensation. Christ did not describe church age doctrine – that was to be Paul’s responsibility, but He did comfort them with the promise of His permanently indwelling Holy Spirit.
Comforting Words
And so He comforted them with some precious words of comfort: Let not your hearts be troubled.
Indwelling Holy Spirit
He didn't explain that first much had to be done in the coming church dispensation. Christ did not describe church age doctrine – that was to be Paul’s responsibility, but He did comfort them with the promise of His permanently indwelling Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3).
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them who are in any trouble, by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God (2 Cor. 1:4).
Are you painfully disturbed just now, distracted by the waves and billows of God's providential permission, and having, as it were, turned over the boulders of your belief, are you still finding no well of peace or joy or comfort; is all barren?
Channels of Peace
We who have been given the mind of Christ should be peacemakers. We who are called children of God should become the channels of His peace – channels of His blessings and peacemaking, channels of our peace to others: finally, beloved, be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind – live in PEACE. 2Corinthians 13:11 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Now the Lord of PEACE himself give you PEACE always by all means Ame
Body of Christ
There is much in the body of Christ that falls far short of Christ’s prayer. Self-righteous attitudes that criticise or accuse instead of godly comfort and correction. Inflated egos that exchanged Christ garments of humility and grace – with hypocrisy. ‘Holier-than-thou’ attitudes that fail to be broken – at the foot of Christ’s Cross.
“As the believer grows, and his path becomes more involved, he is taught more about the Holy Spirit’s ministry, for he needs this doctrine increasingly for his comfort and rest in trial.
How often we have murmured under trial only to see later the preparation of the Lord Jesus of our hearts that we might be His ministers of comfort in an hour of need in the life of another (2 Cor. 1:4).
Afflictions, therefore, many times are the advance token of the Father that we are being prepared for a special ministry of comfort to others.
Christ is the answer to each hurting heart.. for the spilt blood of Christ alone can address each need and comfort each heart – the shed blood of Jesus alone can calm each cry and heal each hurt.
Spirit of Comfort
Truly Jesus is a great Comforter - our wonderful 'Paraclete'. Wikipedia tell us it mean 'Advocate' or 'Helper' and it generally refers to the Holy Spirit.
No words have dropped so graciously from His lips than His words of Comfort.
Comfort in Sadness
And to the grieving and bereft widow at Nain, His reassuring, Weep Not, is spoken.
To the sorrowing sisters at Bethany, His soothing comfort comes with the word - Thy brother shall rise again.... gently scolding them in doubts and tears... Didn't I say that, if you believe, thou would see the glory of God?.
Oh -and what blessed words of perfect comfort are spoken to the beloved disciple..
when he saw the majesty of the risen, glorified Christ in his awesome Patmos vision, and heard those astonishing words of comfort:- Fear not; I am the first and the last... I am He that is alive, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
No words ever uttered could be more full of comfort and reassurance as these - to him who understands them..
Comfort in Fear
It seems that the Lord loves us so deeply, that He would not have us fear, for He tells us:- that fears is not made perfect in love....and that there is no fear in love, because fear hath torment.... but perfect love casts out fear:- 1John 4:18.
He would have us live our lives without fear; without care, without doubt or worry. If we trust Him fully then we must love Him completely.. and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him 1John 4:16. What comfort is this.
He charges us not to fear this life, not to fear death nor to fear what is after death. He has His words of comfort in every walk of life - and in every touch of death - and He would have each of His own living fully in Him... full of that perfect love that casts out all fear ... and care..
Spirit of Contentment
For to be in the place of His choosing, makes for quiet contentment of heart. To be in the will of the Father makes for inner peace in the soul. Paul - bondservant of Christ, denied every comfort and wrote these words in his dungeon.. I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. And yet the restrictions of his environment did not prevent him from being used mightily, by the God to whom he submitted his life.
We dwell much upon the side of being filled with joy, but let us not forget there are broken hearts all round us, and if we are to be channels of divine comfort to them, we must learn something of the fellowship of His sufferings in our own experience.
Comfort and Care
Exhortation and encouragement is a beautiful aspect of our Christian life. Peter is the apostle that encourages us to care for one another, in Christ. Peter tells us: above all, keep loving one another earnestly, for love covers a multitude of sins. 1Peter 4:8. We should be concerned for the well-being of fellow believers in many ways.
Paul is one who reminds us of our responsibility to comfort one another: wherefore comfort one another with these words..” 1Thess.4:18
Exhort and Edify
Paul also prompts us to come alongside each other – to undergird the others faith. Wherefore exhort yourselves together, and edify one another, even also as ye do 1Thess.5:11. We are to exhort ourselves together and edify the body of Christ. We are to comfort each other and help to underpin each other in life: Exhort yourselves together – Heb.10:25 Comfort one another – 1Thess.4:18 Love one another earnestly – 1Peter.1:22
Exhort is the root word of the Holy Spirit as the great Comforter of our souls. This is a beautiful picture of a friend who gently comes alongside, to encourage. We are shown that we should function in the Spirit of exhortation and comfort.
Sometimes it is to offer a word of comfort – sometimes to act as a balance.
Comforting Support
How we need to exhort and comfort one another.
Encouraging Exhortation
No, the sort of exhortation required is uplifting, encouraging, exhorting. It is often that word of comfort and encouragement that gladdens the heart. It is a maintaining a responsibility towards the good of others. It is taking care of the household of God. It is building each other up in the faith. It is being careful one for the other – and it is carried out in the power of the Spirit..
It is a part of the calling of saints to show men how to suffer: how, even in the midst of the hard and bitter experiences of life, the Lord Jesus is sufficient to give joy and comfort. -H.F.
STUDY - God, All I Need
Thou shalt comfort me on EVERY side.Psalm71:21
Sufficient Comfort
Let us commit, daily, to resting in Him through the trial of human experience. Let us, in confidence, abide continually in His heavenly comfort, and receive blessing and renewal from our precious heavenly Comforter.
He our indwelling Comforter gives Spirit to spirit comfort and rest. He will never leave you, He will never forsake you – in time or throughout eternity.
Heavenly Companion
Whatever difficulties, disasters, frustrations, problems and pain assail you – you can drink deeply of the well of His confidence, for He is your sure Companion. One result of His indwelling companionship is an abiding comfort..
It talks of trust when others doubt; waiting when others give up. It talks of being hated and being lied about without resorting to retorts – about meeting both triumph and disaster with equal resolve. It talks of being able to hear the truth about yourself – twisted and falsified, without resorting to trying to justify yourself….“if you can watch the things you gave your life to broken, and stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:”…”If you can lose, and start again at your beginning, and never breathe a word about your loss…”.. Oh yes I found great comfort in Kipling’s “IF’.. for through its verses a father gives his son the criterion of a real man.
Plumb-line of Truth
God is with us and in us and before us and behind us every moment of our lives. Human feelings are not the plumb-line for His divine omnipresence in your life. His Word is the pure principal and standard that God Himself has ordered. Of course we are all human and we all love to have concrete reassurances, but our comfort and reassurance must remain in His Word of truth.
Chambers continues:- “Are you painfully disturbed just now, distracted by the waves and billows of God’s providential permission, and having, as it were, turned over the boulders of your belief, are you still finding no well of peace or joy or comfort; is all barren?
Right Standing
The God of comfort desires to comfort us in all our deeds and distresses – to comfort us by continuously bringing us back to a right standing with Himself – so that He can draw us all into the depth of understanding of Himself that He desires. It is the prayers of the righteous – the bond-slaves of the Lord that He hears..
Inscrutable Ways
Is not this glorious truth a comfort in appreciating if not in understanding His mysterious thoughts; His unsearchable judgments; His inscrutable ways?
I am sure at the start, in the silence of their company, his friends were a real comfort – but later, looking at the circumstances, they try to analyse Job’s sufferings themselves.
In an attempt to comfort Job, they speak and argue through self-acquired wisdom.
Psa.94:12 Yes.. Job’s seed of travail – became a living expression in the innermost being of David. But the seed that was growing in David’s experience is recorded for our learning. The agonies in the early part of Psalm 94 – displaying God’s training within His child explodes into joyous understanding, as God chastens ‘the man after His own heart’. David recognises the Lord’s mercy and David discovers the Lord’s comfort, when he cries: the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge. In the multitude of my thoughts within me, Thy comforts delight my soul” Psa.94:19
He prepares and chastens and purges each one, until they cry: “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear but now mine eye seeth Thee.” Job2:45. God will expose the roots of the old Adamic nature, with its prideful religiosity, until the old self-life is crucified and the new-life is transformed into His image. He will take your personal ‘seed of affliction‘, turning you into a ‘vessel of comfort’.
An Eternal Ministry
God prepared Job to be His ‘Vessel of Comfort‘ – and you have that same choice.
And Job has been engaged in the “Ministry of Comfort” – for the last 4000 years or more..
Consider God’s Way
Have you considered ‘These Three Men’ – Noah; Daniel and Job, who lived by faith – who were all beloved of the Lord and were all men after God’s own heart – who stood at ALL cost for God’s end; God’s purpose; God’s motive; God’s way? Have you considered what it would mean to you to become a vessel of God’s choice – a chosen vessel of God – to intercede and comfort those who are in need? Have you considered Paul’s “Job Experience” and his astonishing conclusion.. Have you considered these 5 things: infirmities..
Timely Words
The sweet psalmist sang in Psalm 41, set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth. And this man after God’s own heart continued : keep watch over the door of my lips – for it is by the words of our mouths that the thoughts of the heart are judged. But how precious is that proper, timely word in due season.. that uplifting message of comfort; that encouraging word of praise; that heart-warming expression of commendation – that quite voice which consoles the hurting or gently checks the fault.
Man’s Simple Plea
Ahh but man takes each call, each prayer, each request as an individual plea, “Father help me in this straight away”, and “Lord I need your comfort in that, now.” Man separates each prayer and petition as one single application.
God of Comfort
You are more precious to Him than the sparkling universe and the riches of the world. He loves you more dearly than human understanding can fathom, and He is the God of comfort when a human heart is faint from exhaustion. He loves to place little lighted candles in our dark chambers of pain and sorrow. He delights to kiss away the tears of sadness and replace them with joy.
Great Comforter
He is able to comfort because He is incarnate Comfort – the great Comforter. He gives His own peace to those He delights in. He offers the same peace that kept Him quiet and calm during His own earthly walk: Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Spirit of Comfort
From our introduction to this man of faith, he is saved – one whose sin is covered, and his triumphant call is … “For I know that my Redeemer liveth…” Job.19:25.
but unlike his three saved, carnal-minded comforters – “Job spoke what was right” And unlike his three religious friends, Job found his comfort in the only Comforter. This same Spirit of Comfort – warns and beseeches us today to take notice of Job.
The Spirit of Comfort admonishes us and He beseeches us…to be like Job.
Why does the Spirit of Comfort admonish us and warn us to be like Job..? Why does He counsel us to put no spiritual stumbling block in our friend’s way..?
This is the ‘comfort’ – wherewith we are comforted..
This is the Spirit of Comfort – This is the Comforter.
It will comfort you much to be assured that the Lord is teaching you dependence upon Himself, and it is very a remarkable thing that faith is necessary in everything!
In fact, we ought to be prepared for the dark hour; so that, though it be dark, there is something so blessed, so suited, pouring its comfort and sustenance on our souls, that, after all, the dark and dreary hour becomes a more really festive time to the heart, because of the virtues of the truth now made known, than the time of its reception, which was so happy and exhilarating. -J.B.S.
The Gospel in Genesis
Adam → ManSeth → is AppointedEnos → MortalCainan → SorrowMahalaleel →The Blessed GodJared → Shall Come DownEnoch → TeachingMethusela → His Death Shall BringLamech → the SorrowingNoah → Comfort and Joy Gen.5:1 ff
The blessed God shall come down teaching His death shall bring the sorrowing comfort and joy.
and God uses this inbuilt operative of the human heart, to develop faith. God uses this innate function of man’s soul, to turn him from self to Christ. When others fail us, it is to the open arms of His comfort that we fly. When things go wrong, it is to the one source of His supply that we turn. When life’s circumstances shatter our hopes, we discover our ‘need‘ of Him.
The Holy Spirit
There is a lot of truth in this simple statement for the Holy Spirit is our Helper. He is our Help and Helper, our Comfort and Comforter – He is our Advocate. He is also our Teacher and Trainer and His work is to make us more like Christ. When one walks by faith in Christ we have abiding access to very Holy Spirit of God.
Our sufferings bring forth need, and our need brings forth His comfort and consolation.
Comfort does not come to the light-hearted and merry.
We must go down into depths' if we would experience this most precious of God's gifts - comfort, and thus be prepared to be coworkers together with Him.
It is in this school that we acquire the ability to comfort others; so that our personal affliction or personal comfort work unto the same end, even the profit of others for we are their servants for Jesus’ sake.” -J.L.H. 221
Words of Comfort
These eternal words of the Saviour were the second words He spoke from the Cross.
When the Lord speaks to the penitent heart, He speaks words of comfort and peace.
Though He was draining the bitter dregs from His cup of woe – a bitter cup, given to Him by the Father – for love of you and me… He gave a cup of blessedness and comfort to this penitent..
No doubt I shall find lovely confidence in the Lord in respect of His government of this world, the comfort of forgiveness, the happy confidence of integrity of heart, and remarkable prophecies of Christ; but where shall I find heavenly hopes, or my union with the glorified Lord Jesus, or even the out-flowings of divine grace, as manifested in His person on earth, or the blessed affection which flows from hearts acquainted with these?
but influence, personality, constitution, diplomas are of no consequence, and satan happily allows many to play their religious games in freedom and comfort.
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God' (2 Cor. 1:4).
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort… Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Trust in Christ
The disciples all loved their Lord, but there was much they did not understand.. and so the Lord Jesus had to comfort them saying, Let not your hearts be troubled.– you believe in God – then believe in Me – believe in ME
Whenever His hand is laid upon you, it is ineffable peace and comfort, the sense that underneath are the everlasting arms, full of sustaining and comfort and strength.
Guard and Guide
Is this not a wonderful comfort to know that God is ever watching over His own. He guards us from danger; He directs the way that we take; He listens to our whispered prayer and He hears our humble worship. The watchful eye of the Father is upon all those that reverence His name.
His Sovereign Rule
What a comfort that He sees everything that happens, whether for good or ill. No matter what takes place and no matter what you face, He sees it and is there with you. Nothing that can happen that is outside His plan and purpose for your life. Whatever trial you face or joy that comes along, He scoops it up into His sovereign rule.
Wonderful Comfort
Is this not a wonderful comfort to know that God is ever watching His own – guarding us from danger; directing the way that we take; listening to our whispered prayer – hearing our humble worship, for the watchful eye of our God is upon all those that reverence His name.
Cup of Suffering
To be pinched by poverty; to be maligned by loved ones; to be fettered by some disability. To be stripped bare of loving comfort; to stand alone in the shocks and quakes of life; to be overwhelmed by man's indifference to man and mans hatred of God. To be weighed down by evil in a Christ-rejecting sin-sick world. To be able to stay and to stand in such a school of discipline - to be able with His grace, to say.. The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it - is this not faith at its highest success? Is this not faith at its crowning pinnacle?
Time of Training
David sought comfort in his Psalms - knowing God's promises are sure and Paul gloried in his thorn - knowing that His grace is sufficient. Present circumstances which press so hard and wound so deeply..if surrendered to the Lord..
Born to Die
He was born to die – that men might live. He was born to be made vile sin – that sinners might be made pure and perfect. He was born to be broken – that sin-shattered man might be made whole. He was born to be wounded – that damaged, traumatized man might be made new. He was born to bring the despairing, comfort, hope and joy that was lost in Eden’s realm. He came to bind up and to heal the broken, bloodied, wounded heart.
Suppose there is a well of fathomless trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says - Let not your heart be troubled; and you shrug your shoulders and say, But, Lord, the well is deep; You cannot draw up quietness and comfort out of it.
Very often it may seem but poor comfort to us in times of suffering, times of trial, times of adversity, times when Satan is pressing hard, to be told that, while we can see nothing of the meaning of all of this, God is instructing angels, and that principalities and powers are deriving the benefit of it all.
We do not draw a great deal of comfort from that, but if we understood I think we would realize that, while we may not at such times be fulfilling a very big ministry on the earth, there is a big ministry going on towards principalities and powers through our instrumentality.
The Spirit’s Ministry
In the book of Acts we discover the Lord Jesus ascending into heaven but the promised holy Spirit was sent to be an ever present help and comfort in this church age. The ministry of the holy Spirit in the life of all believers today, is to glorify Christ. The work of the Spirit in our lives is to conform us into the likeness of Christ Jesus.
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Philippians 2:1,2 NIV)
Picture of Noah, courtesy of www.freebibleimages.org/
A Full Study Of JOB
Comforting Story
The story of Job has been a great comfort to Jew, Gentile and Christian alike.
Some take comfort that, “bad things happen to good men” – and this is so..
Ideal verses Reality
Christ is indeed our Consolation, Strengthener, Support and Comfort – but in dealing in the spiritual, we must differentiate between the ideal and the actual!
Revelation 2:26 tells us: he who overcomes, and he who keeps My works until the end.. Rev,2:26. I take comfort in the following words today – and I hope that you do too.
How blessed to know that He is absolute Master in all things; that even He maketh the wrath of man to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He restrains.' It is the only thing that can give the smallest comfort in the midst of such a scene of confusion all around us. -F.W.G.
To look to the beauty and comfort of this world to satisfy? Do you yearn for the greater fulfilment here? To do the things you missed out on – things on that the world has to offer? Do you regret that there are places you never visited – things you never did? This temptation has fallen on every generation. Oh!
He comforts us in our every affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction by means of the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted of God (2 Cor. 1:4, Wey.).
It is a great comfort to know that everything our Father takes us through - much of which may be hard and heartbreaking - has a dual purpose.
a vessel of intercession – a vessel of praise, but especially a vessel of deep comfort.
A vessel of God’s comfort to others in need of that comfort.
Adamic Religiosity
God wants to use His called and chosen vessels to comfort others in their need.
That we may be able to comfort them, which are in any trouble.” 1 Cor.1:4.
we too need comfort.
Their comfort was a potpourri of good and evil – a mixture made up of truth and lies.
Oh how he needed their loving comfort, but how their attitude infected Job’s retort.
God of Comfort
But the God of all Comfort in His goodness turns the crumbling situation to good.
For the Spirit of Christ alone is our Comfort; our Consolation; our ‘Paraklesis,’ – our Intercessor and Counsellor; our Advocate; our Encourager and Strengthener.
And it is through Him that His Comfort becomes a living expression in us – until it is not I that live but Christ that lives in me.”
Spirit of Comfort
‘Paraklaleo‘ means:- to encourage; console; comfort; entreat; desire; beseech: incite.
He is the One that makes ALL the comfort of God a living declaration in our lives..
a life filled with the Spirit of Comfort: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comforts; Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the Comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” by His Comfort. flowing through us
Blessing in Suffering
Some are blessed to discover the treasures of Christ through the hour of suffering. He comforts us in all our sufferings, so that we can comfort others who suffer -so that we will be able to give them the same comfort that God has given us. 2Cor.1:4 It is as each of His own reach the extremity of their own suffering and pain.. that each discover that Christ alone is all they need and all they desire. It is only as His own discover the comforts of Christ through chastisements.. that each arrives at his own deeper understanding of Paul’s exhortation:- that through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus – so that the Life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” 2Cor.4:10
Truth in Love
They brought comfort to the hurting; forgiveness to the sinner; direction to the lost. They gave freedom to the captive; wisdom to the simple; correction for the proud.
Prevented by Unbelief
He may approach us, desiring to impart rich gifts of strength, comfort and joy. He may come bearing gifts of wholeness and health; wisdom, love and help, and yet He may be prevented by unbelief – as He was that time so long ago, “He came unto His own and His own received Him not…” John 1:11
We bless You from the House of the Lord. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, Blessed be His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord !
But Paul also wanted to comfort, encourage and edify these believers - and so often we find that this is done by calling to remembrance all the wonderful things that God has done for us - and anticipating all the wonderful things that God has in store for the future.
Paul reminded them that they were called to be holy and enriched by the grace of God - and he also reminds us that our God is a God of comfort, especially in those times of trials and difficulty - for God is always in control and His grace is always sufficient ..
Paul was a man who was equipped to comfort and encourage other Christians through the difficulties and dangers of life because Paul was a man who understood the significance of suffering for the sake of Christ - and Paul was a man that received gracious comfort from the God of all comforts - Who comforts each one of us so that we may be used by Him to comfort other people, who may cross our life-path.
He discovered Him to be a place of protection in the storms of life and a source of comfort in the trials that surrounded the children of Israel in their pilgrimage, through their wilderness walk - for underneath are His everlasting arms, to uphold and to support - to embrace and to save in the midst of the enemies that surrounded them.
These are words from scripture that have comforted multitudes of God's children down through the corridors of time, and neither the things of the world that blacken our life, nor the imaginations of the mind that cloud our heart, must shift our trust in this Word of comfort, that come directly from our great God of all comforts.
And what a comfort for Christians in this dispensation of grace, to know that the promises that God has made to the Church in connection with our own, heavenly inheritance are equally steadfast and sure... for the Word of God can never be broken.
And so, he sent Tychicus to encourage and comfort their hearts – in the midst of the difficult times in which they were living, and to embolden them to also preach the Word fearlessly.
It was through Tychicus that Paul sent his letter to Colossae, for this faithful friend was a man who brought encouragement and comfort to all those he served, and he had proven himself to be zealous for the gospel, and Paul’s worthy co-worker – and so he wrote: I am sending Tychicus to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.
May we, like Tychicus, walk in wisdom, pray in spirit and truth, redeem the time and give godly comfort and encouragement to our Christian brothers and sisters in Christ.
May we seek to be a faithful servant of God and develop the sort of Christlike character that honours the Lord in word and in deed… and may we give godly encouragement and comfort to all those who are placed in our path – for the honour of His holy name.
Such knowledge is beyond our simple understanding, but what a comfort this should be to all those that trust in His name, for there is nothing that can separate us from His continuous attendance - nothing can happen, which is unknown to Him.
Indeed he even exhorts us to consider our various trials as a joy and blessing from our Father, while Paul warns that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution - but that God Himself will comfort us in our suffering and pain..
so that we can comfort others in their suffering and pain.
And although these words of comfort were given to the nation of Israel after Isaiah's repeated warning of coming punishment if the nation did not repent of their evil ways, nevertheless the Lord is a God of comfort and grace.
estled between his pronouncements of great judgement, are little sections of comfort and hope, which promise restoration to the people of Israel, and a full and final fulfilment of God's promise, to their forefather Abraham.
The rainbow is a simple, visible sign of God’s covenant of grace to His creation, that is recorded in His written Word, and when we see a rainbow in the sky, it is certainly a cause of comfort… it occurs when the white light of the sun falls onto droplets of water, refracting into the glorious display we love to witness after the storm-clouds have thundered past.
Should not we who are His children, made in His image and born of the Spirit, humble our hearts before Him and bow our ear to listen to the whisper of His still small voice... as He speaks to us His words of comfort and guidance?
The dead in Christ will be raised first and then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord - what a great comfort this is and no believer should be ignorant of this wonderful truth, so that we will not grieve for our brothers and sisters in Christ..
His dealings with Israel is a great comfort to all God’s children, for we know that despite the times when we also wander away from the Lord; getting swept into worldly ways or adopting a careless attitude, His initial response may well be discipline or chastisement, but He is also long-suffering towards us, even when we stray from His path of righteousness and follow our own foolish ways.
Our faithful God is the one who fed the hungry multitude, provides comfort for the broken-hearted, gives succour to the weak, strength to the weary, hope to the afflicted and salvation to all who trust in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins - for while we were yet sinners, God in His grace provided a kinsman-Redeemer, to save His people from their sins.
There is great comfort for the people of Israel (and for all the children of God) in the book of Isaiah, for despite Israel's rebellion against the Lord and the crucifixion of their promised Messiah, God has declared that He will not forsake His people..
who is dead in sins, estranged from God and steeped in apostasy as recorded in the Old Testament - to the 27 New Testament chapters that follow, which deal with redemption and comfort, forgiveness and grace - and joyfully terminates with a new heaven and a new earth.
BUT GOD Who is loving and gracious, long-suffering and faithful, pronounced His bitter rod of severe chastening would also prove to be His blossoming staff of sweet comfort and peace, grace and mercy - love and hope and joy.
And so Jeremiah writes a message of comfort to the Jewish exiles in Babylon promising that God's future plans for His chosen people, are always rooted in His faithfulness towards them, with a promise of peace and not a pledge of punishment that would result in their ultimate disaster and destruction.
Despite their disobedience toward the holy one of Israel, the gracious thoughts God has towards them and the future plans that He has for them, are designed to prosper them and to bring them peace and comfort, safety and success, and not a scheme to harm them or bring them into disaster.
The future plans and purposes for Israel as for all God's children is to give us a future filled with hope and not with calamity. This glorious verse of comfort sparkles with reassuring radiance, that the future plans that God has for all of His people, (both for Israel and the Church), are for our eternal good and spiritual welfare, as well as our temporal and physical needs - all of which rests in the bosom of our gracious God.
Loyalty in friendship is a grace that becomes all the more precious when despite intensifying hardships a friend is there to comfort and help... and the scriptures remind us never to abandon a friend - nor even to forsake the friends of your father or mother.
He calls us to sympathize with each other - to have compassion one for another and to empathize in the trials and difficultness that our brothers and sisters in Christ are going through, to be there to help and to comfort, to support and encourage.
The Lord knows that only as we commune with Him and obey His new commandment to love as I have loved, will He be able to pour streams of His living water through us, to comfort and refresh all we meet.
This wonderful truth that our Lord and Saviour is to return on the clouds of glory, to take us to be with Himself should be of tremendous comfort, wonderful encouragement and an assured hope.
Paul often prayed for the comfort, encouragement, establishment and strengthening of the Body of Christ, which is the Church... and in this great prayer we find Paul's fervent intercession addressed equally to the Lord Jesus Christ and to God the Father.
asking both God the Son and God the Father to comfort and encourage the hearts of these believers, and to strengthen and establish them in every good work and in all they say.
It is the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father Who has given us eternal comfort too - by grace through faith - and it is the Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father Who have given us a good hope by His grace..
Life often takes us through the weary place and the parched wilderness on this journey through life, where only God can provide the comfort and sustenance we desperately need, for He alone is our present help in time of trouble - Whose compassion and mercy towards us is new ever morning. How precious that as His children we can legitimately cry out: O God, You are MY God.
and when we share in the afflictions of our brothers and sisters in Christ, in a small way we also help to fill up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions - and the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ Jesus our Lord.
What a blessed comfort this verse has been to multitudes of believers in Christ, down through the ages, who have rested on these words of the Psalmist and had their hearts stilled in the presence of the Lord.
These words of David have been of great comfort to many who have been overwhelmed by the fights and fancies of evildoers, who in comparison with the godly man, seem to prosper in the ways of the world and who can excite envy from those that are seeking to walk in spirit and truth.
So many of the sacred words that have been penned by Israel’s shepherd king are prayers that have been rehearsed on the lips of many saints, over centuries of time, who have found comfort and grace in his pleadings to the Lord.
Isaiah move from warnings of imminent punishment for the unrepentant masses of apostates and blessings for a believing remnant in chs 1-39, to future prophecies of comfort and hope, with deliverance and national restoration for those who believe, in chs 40-66.
Isaiah and other prophetic voices had warned for centuries that the apostate kingdoms of Israel and Judah would be punished for their sin, forcibly removed from their homeland and sent into exile if they did not repent.. nevertheless, words of comfort and hope were given to a faithful remnant - 'the Israel of God' as Paul calls them.
Despite both Israel and Judah being carried away into exile, prophecies of comfort abound for God's little remnant, and later chapters in Isaiah, are filled with promised of future deliverance.
on our behalf.Jesus was the perfect example of a Man of prayer, by which He maintained unbroken fellowship with His heavenly Father, from Whom He received strength, comfort and direction.
What a comfort to know that the good tidings of great joy, which spoke of the glorious gospel of Christ would not grind to a bitter halt at His departure, but that the Spirit of truth would come to guide them into the many truths that they were not yet ready to receive - truths that could not yet be manifest before the victory on the cross had been finally won.
These words of comfort, spoken by God to the nation of Israel, can equally be applied to Christians today – Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.
Let us not only read these words of comfort but let us meditate on them and wholeheartedly believe them, for the One Who created us in Christ Jesus has also said: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.
Although this man of God warned of the judgement to come, there is much in this book that emphases the sovereign authority of the Lord, which gave encouragement and comfort to his people, Israel.
And so we are called upon to live as unto the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit - to be at peace among ourselves, to warn those who are being irresponsible; to comfort the discouraged, help the weak and to be patient with everyone.
The God of Israel challenged His people to be strong and very courageous, but He also entreated them never to fear or to tremble with fright and reassured them that He would be with them always, to lead and to comfort, to support and help them, no matter where they went or what they did.
Many believe that becoming a Christian will guarantee a life of simplicity and ease; affluence and comfort, but we are warned in many passages that those who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life will meet with persecution, and will be made to suffer because of their stand for Christ.
It was by divine design that this Psalm so beautifully describes the Lord God as our great and caring Shepherd, for although it is often used as great comfort at a time of death or bereavement - it is equally a Psalm that points to the Lord Jesus Christ as our sustenance and support in every season of our lives.
But we can rightly say the Lord is MY Shepherd – for He is with each of us every step of the way, to lead and to comfort - to guard and to guide.
He knows that doubts and discouragement can be triggered by so many things that mar our lives, and so He often expands His words of comfort with a beautiful post-script, underlining and emphasizing His loving-kindness.
Psalms are often considered to be a collection of religious writings which give comfort in times of loss; help in times of need or encouragement in times of difficulty.
In times of weakness and weariness he ran for comfort into the loving arms of his faithful Shepherd and in times of spiritual thirst He cried: lead me to the Rock that is higher than I, for David had proved God’s faithfulness towards His people and knew that God’s everlasting mercy towards each of His children, is new every morning
God’s message of grace and comfort towards His people, weaves its way throughout the Scriptures, like a golden thread.
the silken thread of His goodness, grace and comfort continued to be woven into the history of Israel – which would finally produce an amazing tapestry of salvation, for every human life, who would trust His Word.God in His grace sent His only begotten Son to pay the enormous price for their sin – and the sin of the whole world, and in Isaiah chapter 40, this great prophet of Israel, begin to write his beautiful, prophetic words of comfort to God’s people, which would eventually be manifested in the birth, life and sacrifice, of the incarnate Word of God.
These are truly heartening words that have helped to bring consolation and comfort to generations of believers - young and old, who have clung to this precious promise as a spiritual life-line, knowing that His grace is sufficient for all eventualities and that His sufficient grace will expand and multiply to encompass every and all temptations, trials and tribulations that we may be called upon to endure in this life.
Rather, we are instructed to keep the eyes of our heart upon Jesus, Who has promised to carry all our burdens, and to comfort us in all our affliction, by the God of all comforts – so that we may offer solace to others, who are also weighed down by the cares of this world, and oppressed by evil-doers.
As Paul draws his second, lengthy epistle to the Corinthian Christians to a close, he reiterates his earlier exhortations to seek after unity within the body of Christ, to be of good comfort to one another, and to remain encouraged in the truth of the glorious gospel of God.
They will support and encourage us, help and counsel us, comfort and warn us and they will love us no matter what happens.
He is the One who will always support and encourage us, help and counsel us, comfort and warn us - and He is the One Whose unconditional love will be poured out upon us without measure, through time and into eternity.
so also are we given abundant comfort and sufficient grace - no matter what we may have to face.
so that through Christ our Comforter, we in turn can offer comfort to others, who also are in need of loving comfort and godly support.
Paul knew that no matter how great our share of suffering for Christ was, we are promised an abundance of comfort, through our Saviour, Jesus Christ - so that we in turn can offer comfort to others.
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation and comfort also abounds through Christ.
But Paul set out, point by point, the exact sequence of events in this passage, in order to comfort their hearts and allay their fears - reminding them of his earlier teaching, and warning them not to be worried or deceived, by the false teachings... that the Day of the Lord had already begun.
It is those that weep for the wretched condition fallen man and of God’s beautiful earth, which was cursed because of man’s sin, who will receive the heavenly comfort offered by the Lord.
It is the penitent sinner, whose contrite heart laments over his own sins and those of an entire world, which is at enmity with God, and under His eternal curse, who will be granted solace from the Lord – for He has promised to wipe away every tear from their eye and to comfort each one of them in their pain.
Christ had already offered a powerful prayer of pardon for His murderers, and a precious promise of assurance to the repentant, dying thief and His third word from the cross, is a one of gracious comfort and loving assurance to His mother, as well as bestowing an opportunity of sweet service to John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. For we read that: when Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He said to His mother, Woman, behold your son!
It speaks of deliverance; pardon; comfort and restoration and tells of the rejection of their Messiah - the suffering Servant of God and the amazing sacrifice of Himself for sin.
This knowledge will comfort us and assure our heart before Him - for our inner being and God-given conscience will not condemn those that are living in spirit and walking in truth.
What a comfort and joy to know that although we do not see the Lord He not only sees us but knows us intimately and has each of one us in His thoughts constantly.
He is our guard and He is our guide and wherever we go and no matter whatever happens to us – He is there to lead and to guide to comfort and to succour.
When we know what we believe and believe what we know we should have no fear for He is with us – His rod and His staff are our comfort for he knows and cares for You and for me with a blessed intimacy.
But what comfort must have flooded his heart, to hear the reassuring words of one of the 24 elders, who were seated on those 24 thrones, surrounding the sovereign throne of almighty God. 'Stop weeping,' he ordered, “for behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of king David, has overcome.
For multiple centuries the words of Job have been a comfort to many who are passing through the fires of testing, for they contain deep truths that formulate the warp and woof of the tapestry that is being woven in the life of every believer.
And as the procession returned to the alter, where the water would be poured out as a thank offering to the Lord the choir sang a joyful hymns of praise, like this one from Isaiah: 'I will give thanks to You, O LORD; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
When at last Joseph revealed that he had been made the governor of all Egypt and was in a position to protect his entire tribe for the duration of the more terrible famine, that was to ravage the world for seven years – Joseph was to comfort His brothers: You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.
He knew the One Who was to come would bring comfort and peace to the weary, war-torn nation of Israel, who for so many centuries had been dominated by a succession of Gentile governments..
Paul's first communication concentrated on correction, while the focus of this second message is on comfort, victory in the cross and the sufficient grace that is ours in Christ.
And in this section he is seeking to comfort them in the pain they had to endure, and to re-establish their close communion and mutual love, by commending them for their changed behaviour, and empathising with the hurt and suffering they had endured.
It is a song of love and comfort, that travels directly from the mind of the almighty and everlasting God into the depth of our fragile being, because it reminds us that it is God Who made us, and not we ourselves… and that He is the One Who knew us from the beginning, when we were hidden in the secret place of our mother’s womb – long before we became aware of His presence and power – His wonder and majesty.
As we journey through its hallowed verses we start to become aware that He is our ever-living help, and that no matter where we are or where we roam, the Spirit of His presence is there to lead and guide, and His righteous right hand is sufficient to uphold and support us; protect and defend us; comfort and equip us – heal and help us.
There is a lovely little chorus we used to sing many years ago that would give the same sort of comfort as the words of this beautiful verse – for we have a good and wonderful God, and He truly is able to heal the broken-hearted and to bind up the wounds of one that is destitute:
Israel rebelled against God's truth and treated His faithful servant abominably - but Jeremiah found hope and comfort in God's word and was able to say amidst severe persecution and trial: Your words were found and I did eat them.
Nevertheless His grace and mercy pours forth to His chosen people in a cleansing flood and a refreshing stream, for the Lord longs to shower compassion, mercy, comfort and grace onto His distressed people, and to bring them to victory in their lives.
Let us be diligent to listen to all He says and to apply it to our lives - and let us comfort one another with the truth of the glorious Gospel of grace knowing that Christ died for our sin and rose again so that whosever believes on HIM will not perish but have everlasting life.
Our home and happiness come under threat – our comfort and character are the target of their fierce arrows – our family and friends; our safety and security and even our work and witness for the Lord seems to be the only target at which they are aiming their cruel condemnation and fiery darts of contempt and censure – and as a result our peace and contentment is shredded into distress and confusion.
He has said, let not your heart be troubled for – He is the God of all comforts Who comforts us in ALL our affliction… Never forget that we have the indwelling Comforter living within our hearts and He is our ever-present help and comfort, when all the difficulties and pressures of life try to swamp up….
and the wonderful reason is so that we, in turn, may be able to comfort others who are also in any kind of affliction – with the same wonderful comfort that we have received from our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
and His letter must have given them much comfort and encouragement - enabling them to hold fast to their faith, during this time of extreme oppression.
evertheless, they were to discover an inner strength, and receive extraordinary comfort, that was not available to them during Christ's lifetime on earth.
But the Lord understood the deep depression that His faithful disciples were going through, and gave them mighty words of comfort and encouragement.
to lead and to guide; to comfort and teach; to exhort and to correct.
He was to be their personal Advisor, Who would teach and train, exhort and encourage, comfort and protect..
His healing hand, never fails to comfort and succour His blood-bought children - for He crowns us all with loving-kindness and the tenderest of mercies.
The beautiful result of the man or women who has received God's perfect forgiveness... is our redemption, healing, comfort, provision, satisfaction and goodness.
This should comfort us, for we have been accepted in the Beloved, by grace through faith, and no matter what we have said or done or will do in the me.
Indeed, Paul exhorts us to comfort one another with these reassuring words.
What a comfort to hear Paul explain that God has not destined us for His wrath, during the first part of the Day of the Lord, because we have obtained salvation, by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
It has always been a great comfort for believers to realise that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that the Lord knows us before we are born..
Indeed it is a great comfort to all God's children that He is no respecter of persons, whether we are Jew, Gentile, male, female, young, old, black, white, bond or free..
Weeping, we are told by the Lord, shall endure for a night - and the welling tear-drops that have blurred our vision and the floods of tears that have dampened our pillows will one day be wiped away by God Himself, Who enters into every searing pain and each aching heart, and not one secret sigh that crosses the portals of our mind, nor one stabbing pain that cuts deep into our hurting hearts is missed by our gracious Lord of love - for He is our great God of comfort.
Never forget that we have God's indwelling Spirit of comfort, Who is with us the moment each solitary tear-drop starts to dampen our lashes.
He knows, He loves, and He cares - so draw closer to His arms of comfort and trust in His love.
But He also gave us great comfort and encouragement with the words: but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.
Paul acknowledged that the Lord is able and willing to give comfort and encouragement to each of us, in all our troubles - so that we, in turn, are able to give solace and support to those who are in any kind of difficulty - through the comfort that we ourselves have received from above.
if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. Oh! -not salvation to the saving of the soul.
Just as the sufferings of Christ brought salvation (justification) and comfort to those who believe - so too the suffering and pain that we endure for righteousness sake will be beneficial for the sanctification and comfort of others..
so that the comfort that we receive from the Lord, will pour forth godly comfort and encouragement to others - which will have an impact on their Christian growth and spiritual well-being.
Paul understood that the comfort he shared with others ... would help to advance their spiritual growth, and develop in them, patient endurance and other godly characteristics, to the glory of God.
May we also have the grace to be joyful in our tribulation and allow the beautiful comfort that we receive from our heavenly Father to freely flow-out to others.
from us - so that they too, may be comforted with the same comfort that we have received - so that they too, may be enabled to patiently endure, whatever difficulties they may have to go through - as we journey through life, towards our heavenly destination.
They would receive mercy and grace in time of need and be granted God’s gracious healing and spiritual wholeness. Then your light will break out like the first rays of dawn, were Isaiah's words of comfort to this little, faithful remnant. Your recovery will speedily spring forth and your righteousness will go before you.
Paul legitimately magnifies each superlative truth and pours comfort upon all our earthly sufferings, building up his watertight argument by unfolding the unsurpassed privilege that are ours in Christ.
These wonderful words have not lost any of their deep impact in these difficult days we all face, but their significance has been magnified and multiplied as we reflect upon these great words of comfort in the face of Jesus, Who has become our own good Shepherd of the sheep and Who has lead us into the way of everlasting grace, peace and righteousness.
Jesus promised us the peace of the most high God - a peace that bring comfort and rest, refreshment and a perfect inner peace that transcends humanity's comprehension - both now and for evermore. Now the Lord of peace Himself give YOU peace at all times in all ways.
What a comfort to know that He is with us as we unite in fellowship around a shared meal or simply join together as we break bread and pass the cup of blessing, in remembrance of Him.
In his letter to the Philippians Paul gives this vital challenge to all believers - IF we have received any consolation in Christ; if therefore we have any comfort of love; if therefore we have any fellowship of the Holy Spirit and if therefore we have any bowels and mercies in Christ, then we are to demonstrate this in our lives by being of one same mind
If we, as children of God, have received His goodness and grace, comfort and hope, we are to maintain the same goodness, grace, comfort and love and be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the body of peace.
for the edification, exhortation and comfort of those in Jerusalem - for we read that: the testimony of Christ is the spirit of prophecy - but still only part of Joel's prophesy was fulfilled at this time
But before that awesome day arrives, the trump of God will sound and the dead in Christ shall be raised and living and resurrected saints in Christ will be raptured into the heaven of heavens, where we shall ever be with the Lord - Let us comfort one another with these words.
May we take to heart the great comfort discovered by this psalmist, whose cry of help to the Lord became an offering of praise and thanksgiving for His goodness and grace.
How blessed are we who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ and how often we find encouragement, comfort, peace and hope in the Psalms of David, whose words so often reflect the joy we also have in the Lord and bring to our remembrance the many precious promises that are ours in Christ.
What comfort, rest and reassurance washes the hearts and minds of believers when reflecting on the overwhelming love of God and the depth and height and length and breadth to which His grace extends.
In God’s eyes we were a rotting corpse - the putrefying remains of a fallen creation with no beauty that God should desire us - with no hope; help; comfort or peace in the world.
His earthy role gives us comfort and help in time of need, as He carries our burdens and calms our troubled breast but His heavenly role is that of advocate, intercessor and great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
and offers them beautiful words of comfort, encouragement, renewal and pardon.
These words of Isaiah were indeed good tidings of great joy to the little, faithful remnant of Israel, but they are words of great comfort and succour to all who are weary and heavy-laden - both Jew and Gentile alike, for He sent Jesus to be the good Shepherd of the sheep, the Door of the sheepfold - the Way, the Truth, the Life and the Light to all who would trust in His name, for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.
There is no more beneficial activity than reflecting, pondering and contemplating the Word of God, which is nourishment for the soul; rest for the weary; peace for the troubled; comfort for the afflicted and instruction for man of God.
We have a firm hope in Christ, and the expectation of His soon return to take us to be with Himself, and so in this verse, we find Peter offering comfort, encouragement and instruction, to all who endure suffering for the sake of Christ. Therefore, Peter wrote, those also who suffer according to the will of God, shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator, in doing what is right.
This prophecy was written to comfort Israel in their time of deep distress, when they were encircled by many God-hating hostile nations, corrupt people and cities of violence.
Indeed David lists the evil lies, corrupt speech, vain babblings, flattering lips and hidden motives of double-hearted and deceitful men, and takes comfort in the knowledge that one day the Lord will stop all flattering lips - and that every boastful tongue will be silenced before the judgement throne of God.
The gracious words of the Lord Jesus are light and life; they are health and wholeness, they are truth and love and they are words of great comfort for all His children.
The gracious words of the Lord Jesus are light and life; they are health and wholeness, they are truth and love, they are peace and comfort - and these words are spoken to you that you may be kept from stumbling.
Before beginning his appeal for mercy, which restated several Christian doctrines on grace, forgiveness, servanthood and our imputed righteousness... by faith in Christ, Paul reminded Philemon of their own, close Christian intimacy, and the mutual love and respect they had for one another - For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.
Paul was not envious of his position in society, but filled with joy and comfort that this beloved son-in-the-faith was showing such godly growth and spiritual grace.
Yet He was able to communicate to His confused and fearful followers, both deep comfort, and the stark reality of what laid ahead.
But this shocking and fearful announcement was counted with the most beautiful words of deep, deep comfort that our Saviour uttered on that eve of our Salvation – words of consolation and succour, words that were to bring reassurance and support; strength, hope and courage to generations who have trusted in Christ as Saviour.
I have overcome the world are simple words from our gracious Saviour – but the grace and glory that flows from His words of deep, deep comfort, will resound throughout the eternal ages to come.
There is so much comfort in these words for all believers and much to learn as well. Job, Paul and Simon Peter are all examples of men that Satan sought to sift as wheat, but the enemy does not have carte-blanche authority to ‘sift’ or harm any believer.
We do not know the exact nature of Paul's 'thorn', but we do know that in addition to this satanic 'messenger', God also permitted His bond-servant,to experience significant suffering, dangers hardship and rejection, but in it all the Lord gave Paul a message that has been a comfort to countless saints, down through the ages: My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.
It was not long before the old prophet realised that Hannah's cry to God was serious and the Lord used him to comfort her and bid her go her way in peace - promising that God had heard her prayer and would answer her request.
and to help us, comfort us, support us, encourage us - and die for us, no matter what temptation we may have to face, and no matter how difficult the circumstances become, that we are going through.
The psalms, prayers and praises of David have been a source of comfort and encouragement to multitudes down the corridors of history, and this Psalm, where David cries out to God for forgiveness of his sins, has demonstrated the importance and wisdom of confessing our sins – particularly our post-salvation sins - for in so doing we are immediately returned into a right relationship with the Father.
But although this like other psalms, prayers and praises of David is an ever-present source of comfort and encouragement to all believers, and rightly so – this verse is a prayer that the Christian can never pray, for in so doing it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the permanent, indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit, in the life of ALL believers - following Christ’s finished work on Calvary's cross.
The psalms, prayers and praises of David are a wonderful source of comfort and encouragement, but we must never confuse the way God dealt with His chosen people Israel - PRE-Cross, and His chosen people the Church - POST-cross.
The sharp; active; living; powerful; wonderful Word of God is used by the Holy Spirit to convict, convert, comfort and conform us into Christ's likeness and to prepare us in this life for the spiritual rest, eternal life and future glory that is laid up for us on high.
While the first part of his prophecy deals mainly with issues relating to Israel; their apostasy; the hardening of their heart towards the Lord and His coming judgement - on them and other nations... chapter 40 onwards speaks words of comfort to God's people and tells of Israel's future deliverance.
No wonder the psalmist cried, “How I delight in Your word, I love Your word and I will meditate on Your word day and night, for Your word it is health to my body, and comfort to my soul”
whether through conflicts without or fears within, we are to take comfort in Christ'; trust His word and fear not - for God will expose every satanic evil plan and will one day judge the world in righteousness.
This teaching was to be a comfort to them - but these dear believers had become frantic, because a false theory was circulating that they had missed the rapture, and had been thrown headlong into the great tribulation!
Jesus has promised to be with us no matter what circumstances we face in life and we should take comfort in the fact that the plan and purposes of God will one day be accomplished, no matter what the anti-God agenda of our day dictates to the contrary.
But their message was one of comfort and joy, which was not to be kept exclusively for the Jews, but was good news to be shared with the gentiles - for everyone who would trust in the name of the only begotten Son of God, would be saved by grace through faith in Him.
Let us comfort one another with these words, as we occupy until Christ comes, and tell forth the wonderful glory of His name, to a lost and dying world, who need Jesus as their God and Saviour.
Understanding the perplexity in their hearts, the gracious Saviour offered words of compassion and comfort as He compressed His eternal love for them into a brief season, starting with these dear words of reassuring peace, comfort and tender encouragement.
These were the perplexing circumstances that surrounded Christ's little group of faithful followers, on the night that he shared these words of comfort and consolation: - Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.
No peace can rule in the heart of the man who is dead in his sins, but Christ's words of comfort to his little flock have become a precious promise that all God's children cling to in this world of problems and pain.
The more we take the word of the Lord to heart and trust in the many precious promises that are ours in Christ, the more we are enabled to appropriate these words of comfort in our everyday life - and the more we discover that the perfect peace of God which passes understanding will guard our hearts and protect our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
He is close to those who are crushed in spirit and gives heed to those that reverence His holy name - and He has promised to feed the hungry heart and comfort the sorrowing soul.
The Lord Jesus would have received much comfort of spirit and inner consolation, had His disciples shown some sympathy in the spiritual battle that Christ had entered.
Though God at times may wait for us to call out to Him, He is neither slow to hear the cries of the disconsolate soul - nor is He slack in responding to pleading cries of the breaking heart - for the very day that Jeremiah called out to the Lord for help, was the very time the Lord responded with those great words of comfort from the God of all-comforts - Fear Not.
When the eyes of the heart cling to the Lord in our deep distress, and childlike dependence, our muted voice is translated into an inner groan of the soul, and God hears and responds to every heart-cry of His children, with His gracious words of comfort - FEAR NOT.
There are those that in their self-sufficiency and pride refuse His comfort and peace, His atoning work on Calvary’s cross – where He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and when the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; for with His stripes we are healed.
that He would bless those that were poor in spirit, feed the hungry, heal the sick, comfort the afflicted, defeat their hated enemies and set up the prophesised heavenly kingdom of peace and prosperity.
Christ had promised to send the Spirit of comfort into their hearts after His departure into heaven - the Spirit of love and life and joy and patience and hope and wisdom and grace and PEACE.
They thought they could withstand any scourge; be protected from their enemies false words of comfort and not be swept away by overflowing floodwaters, about which Isaiah warned.
In his customary introductions, which, as always, included the lovely salutation grace and peace to you, Paul used himself as a role model, to show that the comfort and grace of God, brought him amazing consolation and strength, in the midst of much severe suffering - and would do the same for each one of them.
Paul had obviously experienced many difficulties, but his main purpose was not to highlight his own problems but to exult the goodness of God, and give Him all the thanks and praise for His comfort, His help and His many precious promises.
He is Salvation to the sinner; Refuge to the saint; Comfort to the afflicted; Strength to the weak; Health to the sick - and He is the Resurrection and Life everlasting to those who trust in His name.
Faith allows obstacles to be changed into opportunities and wounds to become a witness to the generous grace that He pours out into our lives in great abundance - so that we may become healing balm godly and comfort in the lives of others facing similar difficulties.
Our Father in heaven has a wondrous array of divine qualities, eternal attributes and godly characteristics that rejoice our heart and calm our soul, but perhaps one of His essential elements is that He is our God of all comfort - our Source of all consolation.
He is more than equipped to comfort us in all our afflictions.
And yet there is a deeper meaning, a wider purpose and a greater reason that our Father of mercies, and God of all comfort condescends to stoop down and comfort us in our affliction and to console us in our miseries, for He has purposed that we who are comforted of Him, may be ready and equipped to comfort and succour all those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort and consolation that we ourselves have received from our heavenly Father.
Generally, man desires a life of ease – a life of comfort and a life devoid of troubles - a life of honour and happiness, and men often do all they can to accomplish this in their life, at the expense of the next.
But what a comfort also to know that despite their rebellion and apostasy against the Lord God of Israel, that He promised: in repentance and rest you will be saved - in quietness and trust is your strength.
Was Simon's heart stirred to step forward unhesitatingly and do what little he could to comfort this beloved Man, Who was to be nailed to the cross and bear the sin of the world on His shoulders?
And although these Old Testament passages are addressed directly to the nation of Israel - all scripture is profitable for the Church, for through it we can discover truths and principles that can comfort, encourage..
What comfort and strength have poured forth from the book of Psalms into the hearts of so many believers down through the centuries, and the love and devotion that spills out from these beautiful verses, warms the heart of all weary wanderers, as David joyfully pens his compelling confidence in His Lord, and utter trust in the God of his salvation.
