God, The Comforter - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) September 22, 2023

Comfort. It's an interesting word that can mean different things under different circumstances. How would you comfort a crying child with a scraped knee, for instance? Would you give a hug or a kind word? How about a kiss on the wound or a piggyback ride? Would you do the same for an elderly man who recently lost his wife? Of course not. In that situation, your way of comforting him could be by visiting him regularly to keep him company. Or, you might stock up his home with food. You could maybe help him clean up his home or run some of his errands.

As we can see, the form of comfort will be different depending on what happened. Yet, the objective is the same - to support the person and take their mind off the problem, even if temporarily.

Despite our best intentions, human beings are limited in how much comfort they can offer. God, on the other hand, can do so much more for a person in need of comfort. There's a reason why He is called the God of all comfort in 2 Corinthians 1:3, meaning He can be the comfort a person needs no matter what they are going through. There is no limit to how He can comfort those in need or how much comfort He can provide.

And that's why we must go to our God for all the comfort we need. In fact, when we don't turn to Him, we are liable to make mistakes and sin. The Israelites made this error when they were at the base of Mt. Sinai (Exodus 32). At that time, Moses had gone up the mountain to meet with the Lord and had been there for a while. The people doubted whether Moses would return and wanted the solace of a god they could see. They then asked Aaron to build them a golden calf - an idol. Instead of calling on the God who had miraculously led them out of Egypt, they turned to a man made object for comfort.

We do the same thing in our own way. A coworker upsets us and we go home fuming. What do we do? We call someone and say disparaging things about the coworker, thereby engaging in gossip, slander and possibly more. We could have simply expressed ourselves to God before venting to someone else. Had we done so, our anger would have been blunted, so we could have simply shared facts without being mean in our speech. What about when we come home after a particularly stressful day? Instead of first dumping the burdens of the day at God's feet or thanking Him for getting us through it, we sink into the sofa and turn on a program that doesn't require much thought. Another option is that we open our devices and scroll mindlessly on social media. Or, we open a bottle of wine and sink our sorrows into that.

The list of ways that we turn to everything other than God for comfort is endless. Yet, God wants to be our first port of call when we are going through things. We shouldn't deprive Him of His responsibility to shower us with comfort and His great desire to show us His compassion. We should call on God, the Comforter. We should lean on His shoulder and speak to His ever-listening ear.

We simply need to ask for God's comfort. After all, we are told to ask in order to receive in Matthew 7:7. There is ample scripture to help us, such as Psalm 71:21 which states, You will increase my honor and comfort me once more. We can also remind the Lord of His duty to provide comfort via Isaiah 51:12 - I alone am the one who comforts you. Why, then, are you afraid of mortals, who must die, of humans, who are like grass? (GWT). There is also Psalm 23:4 - Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

And when we have received the Lord's comfort, we can praise with Isaiah 49:13 - Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, And break forth into singing, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted (AMP).

No matter the issue, don't hesitate to ask God to be your comforter. Call on Him to wrap you up in His arms. Ask Him to be whatever you need Him to be in the troubling moments. God loves each of us and wants us to consider Him capable of comforting us in our times of need.

See you at Noon EST for fellowship. God bless you.