Tag: #comfort

A Life with Great Comfort

We all need comfort. Without comfort we wither on the inside and dry up. It is what nurtures and restores our souls. Comfort is like the spring rains that come and bring refreshment to the earth. Comfort brings healing to our hurts.

Ask rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain— The Lord who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. Zechariah 10:1

It is the Lord that gives comfort. He will come to us like the spring rain when we seek Him, that is, when we press on to know Him.

“So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” Hosea 6:3

When we press on to know the Lord then not only do we receive comfort for our soul but He also restores us. The Lord gave us His Holy Spirit so that we would know His great comfort and be restored.

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; John 14:16

A characteristic of the Helper, who is the Holy Spirit, is that He brings comfort to those who belong to Jesus Christ.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26

It is the Holy Spirit who brings comfort. He is given to all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Lord cleanses our conscience and heart when we receive Him. When our conscience has been cleansed then we can hear the voice of the Lord. He is our Good Shepherd and we are His sheep.

I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. John 10:11

His sheep hear His voice.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; John 10:27

God is a God of comfort. He is the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our afflictions and troubles. His comfort is abundant in Christ.

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 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. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. II Corinthians 1:3-5

Are you struggling? Let the Lord comfort you through His Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit bring to your remembrance the comforting Words of Christ. The Lord did not give the Holy Spirit to convict Christians but to comfort them. (The Holy Spirit does not convict Christians but the Holy Spirit convicts non Christians. It is the conscience of the Christian that reveals to him his wrong and he grieves or quenches the Holy Spirit. For this reason it is crucial that a Christian keep a clear conscience.) Conviction involves judgment and judgment involves punishment and condemnation. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Jesus Christ took the judgment for our sins on the cross. He took our punishment and our condemnation. He never sinned and never did any wrong. All of us have sinned.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. II Corinthians 5:21

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; I Peter 3:18

It is Jesus Christ who died for the sins of the world and was raised again. It is Jesus Christ who brings us to God. It is Jesus Christ who gives us His righteousness. It is in Jesus Christ that we have great comfort.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Are you struggling? Do you feel as though there is no one to comfort you? Do you feel as though there is no hope? Does your soul need to be restored? Come to Him. He is the only One who knows you perfectly and understands your hurts and needs. He will come to all who call on Him.

“For these things I weep; My eyes run down with water; Because far from me is a comforter, One who restores my soul. Lamentations 1:16a

The Lord is the Good Shepherd if you are His child. He will bring you comfort and restore your soul if you come to Him. That is who He is.

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3

A Life with Stability

A basic need in a person’s well being is for there to be absolutes that do not change. The world changes, people change, relationships change, finances change and nearly everything else is subject to change. However, people need hope and an anchor for their soul, so that when life changes or storms come they have something that keeps them secure and stable so that their life and emotions are not like the waves of the sea.

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Psalm 46:1-3

God is the only One who does not change. A person who takes refuge in the Lord does not need to fear. The Lord will be their strength and He is a present help in time of trouble. The Lord does not say that trouble will not come but rather He promises those who look to Him that He will be a present help in their trouble. The Lord will be with them in their trouble. A person who takes refuge in the Lord and looks to Him will not fear even though the earth should change and the mountains slip into the sea. The Lord is able and will help those who look to Him to be their refuge and strength.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29

God reveals Himself to mankind through the Scriptures, which are God’s inspired Words. It is through God’s Words that we come to know Him.

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. II Peter 1:20,21

God’s Word does not change. God’s Words are who He is. We can trust what He says in His Word, the Bible. We can build our life on His truths found in His Words.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:1-3

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

Jesus Christ is God’s revelation of who God is. Jesus Christ is God. Jesus Christ was in the beginning and He is God. All things came into being through Him. The Word became flesh and God manifested Himself in Jesus Christ and lived on earth. Jesus Christ was not created for He is God and He is the Creator. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, the Father. God is One. Jesus Christ and God the Father are equal. This is a mystery and it is infinite. Man can not fully understand God for man is finite. We may not be able to fully understand God, for if we could then we would be like God, however, we can fully trust God. God has revealed Himself to us that He is good and He is love. He also is all powerful. Nothing is too difficult for Him.

Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, Jeremiah 32:17

When we feel confused or doubt, it is because we do not know the Lord. He wants us to know Him and when we know Him then we can trust Him. We know the Lord through His Word, the Bible. He wants us to trust Him. We can trust His love, His knowledge and His power. We do not need to fear.

But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. Matthew 22:29

The more we trust Him then the more we will not fear. The more we know Him then the more we can trust Him. The Lord wants us to not just “know about Him” but He wants us to know Him intimately. The Lord wants us to have a love relationship with Him. This love relationship comes about through Jesus Christ. When we receive Him into our heart and life then we come in a relationship with Him. It is when we begin a relationship with Him that He is revealed to us. For this reason, those who are skeptical or cynical or doubting can not know Him. It is when we turn to Jesus Christ in faith that we see Him and see His love, power and faithfulness. We begin a relationship with Him through coming to Jesus Christ in prayer through faith.

Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; Acts 3:19

Repent means to turn to God from whatever we were looking to or doing to give us comfort, stability, purpose, security or any other significant need and desire in life. God has made us to be in a relationship with Himself. At one time, everyone believed in God because the Lord puts the belief of Him in the hearts of children, that they might come to Him. However, for whatever reason, if one did not come to Him as a child then the light of God starts to grow dim and then even dimmer as time goes on. Since a person can not live without love and significance a person starts seeking love and meaning in other ways. These are always invalid substitutes for the real thing, which is God alone. Jesus Christ is the only One who can satisfy us and fill the emptiness within our hearts and lives. He is the only One who never changes. His love is a constant and He came to love us with an unconditional love. Just as a person can not live without love, a person can not live with guilt. Jesus Christ is the only One who can take our guilt away. Not only does He take our guilt away but He also takes our shame and our sin. He makes us clean on the inside and fill us with Himself and His love.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. I John 4:18

It is our fears that bring instability and the Lord is the only One who can cast out all fear. He never changes and His love never changes. We can trust Him completely. When we come to Him then He casts out our fears and gives us the stability that we long for and the peace that we need. He becomes our stability, our refuge and our hope when He becomes our Lord and our Savior.

And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; Isaiah 33:6

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. II Samuel 22:3

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast…Hebrews 6:19a