comfort Archives – Sonshine's Journal

September 30, 2024September 30, 2024

9.30.24. Comfort

2 Cor 1 God of all comfort

If anyone has suffered greatly it is Paul. He has walked the road of suffering so he might bring the gospel to others. He knows the Corinthians personally and he is aware of how they have come to know Christ. He also knows their strengths and weaknesses. Where is our heart? Do we know others so well that we can speak with honesty to them about their weaknesses and their strengths? The other side of this coin is to ask ourselves if we have such close communion with others that we can share our own needs with them as Paul has done in this letter? What characteristic of God can we share with others who are suffering?

Paul now speaks to these precious friends in Corinth to remind them of God’s comfort when they face suffering. In another letter we read: be strong and courageous and that is what Paul is telling these Corinthians about how he has faced suffering. “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” Why does God reveal that character quality to us? Paul answers that by saying it is so we can in turn comfort others as they face sufferings.

Who today needs this message?

July 10, 2024July 10, 2024

God is our Comfort

Matthew 6 Comfort & Wisdom

There are times in our lives when we need to stop what we are doing and just ask the Lord how to comfort others. This chapter guides us through that grieving process as we recall the Lord’s Prayer which is one our Savior gave his disciples when they asked how to pray.

Our Father which art in heaven. He knows all and is aware of the grief our friends are facing.

Thy kingdom come is the desired outcome of anyone who seeks God and seeks His place.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As we echo these words, may our hearts seek comfort for those who have lost a loved one.

Give us our daily bread which is needful when we are grieving. Sustaining one’s health is critical, and we can offer sustenance to the grieving people.

Forgive us our debts/trespasses as we forgive others. The remaining family needs this reminder because often we feel guilt over the one who committed suicide.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom and the glory forever. Those who have remained after are tempted to try to understand this death, but God wants us to trust Him and leave the results to Him.

Today stop and pray for those who are facing this path and pray for God’s comfort.

January 30, 2022January 30, 2022

Comfort the Grieving

Lev. 10 After all that Moses had instructed Aaron and his sons, why did Nadab and Abihu offer strange fire? We will never know because they are not here to explain, for God took them. He didn’t take them like Enoch, but He took them, and Aaron’s nephews had to bury them. In the midst of this, Moses charges Aaron and his sons of not eating the sin offering. Why was Moses so callous? John MacArthur says Aaron clearly was wrong, but the shame and grief were so heavy on Aaron, Ithamar, and Eleazar that they could not…not they would not but could not. Sometimes our words bring not comfort but reveal a callous heart. Maybe that is why Paul wrote these words: “who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” [2Cor 1:3]

Today lest we be callous, may we have a tender heart towards those who are on their grief journey whether the loved one was in sin or not. They are hurting, and we should hurt along with them. Today be tender towards those who are hurting.

January 6, 2014

Lord I am Awake!

Are you a persistent prayer warrior? These three psalms give us a clue as to what that entails. Persistent prayer begins in the wee hours of the morning. King David began each morning this way and ended it as well. ““In the morning.” This is the fittest time for intercourse with God. An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening. While the dew is on the grass, let grace drop upon the soul. Let us give to God the mornings of our days and the morning of our lives. Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night. Devotion should be both the morning star and the evening star.” [Spurgeon]

Persistent prayer closes our day and offers a time to reflect, a time to meditate, a time to contemplate as we close our eyelids. This child’s prayer is as simple as it gets:

“Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep,

If I shall die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”

There is comfort in that prayer and perhaps that is why children like King David can say: 3:5 “I rested and slept; I awoke, for the Lord protects me.” 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep peacefully, for you, Lord, make me safe and secure.”

We could change some of this to a simple prayer to begin our day taking ideas from these psalms and psalm 1:

Now Lord I am awake!

I pray that my righteousness I will not forsake,

Guide me step by step to glorify You,

In all I say and in all I do. Amen

Are you awake and refreshed? Have you spent time with God this morning? If not, consider that as a beginning to your new year’s goals.

October 1, 2013

Steadfast Confidence

How do you react in times of difficulty? Are we confident in the God we say we believe? If so, are we living so that others may ask how we are facing life’s circumstances?

As Paul wrote this second letter to the church in Corinth he shared from the heart the burdens he was carrying and the love he had for them. His ministry was not without a cost however and in this letter he openly bears his soul to them that they may learn from him how to handle adversity. As we read we want to keep our eyes open to what he faced: conflicts, fears, sufferings. Then we want to transition to ask: are they similar to mine? Am I persevering as Paul did? What lessons can I learn that I can use later for others?

Question 1: Who is God to you when you face adversity? Is he as Paul notes: the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort? Is he a god who can comfort us in all of our troubles? Do we see our troubles as God’s open door for us to in turn minister to others? These are the questions we need to address as we read 2Cor.

Principle 1: One purpose in suffering is that we may in turn comfort others when they face similar circumstances. vs 4 God is the God of all comfort; vs 6 if we face affliction/suffering/adversity it is that we may be in turn be able to comfort and empathize with others.

Principle 2: We can be confident and trust that God is involved in our circumstances vs 7 And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort. Vs 9 we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

Principle 3: Be steadfast, immovable in whatever circumstance you find yourself vs 10 We have set our hope on him – on God alone

Principle 4: Our prayers that are being offered are useful for ourselves and others. 1:11 as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many. John Bunyan wrote: “In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”

What adversity are you facing today that you can implement these same 4 principles? Perhaps you may have faced a similar adversity. Thus the question is: How may I pray for you in this time?

Know this: God is not only a God of all comfort but He is a God of love!