All of us need, or have needed, or will need comfort. God supplies it (2 Cor. 1:4). He can provide it because He is the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). Now God does things indirectly, or through agencies – for He is the God who must hide Himself from sinful man lest we die. God comforts through people. Note 2 Cor. 1:4:- we can comfort others by relating what we found in similiar circumstances. 2 Cor. 7:5,6 relates how the arrival of Titus comforted Paul and his companions. How was this accomplished? Note 2:12,13:- Paul was anxious about the welfare of the Corinthian congregation, because of the problems there and the letter he had written them. He had sent Titus there (8:6; 12:18) to encourage them with the collection for the drought appeal for Judaea. Apparently they had agreed to meet in Troas but Titus hadn’t turned up. Paul’s anxiety had compounded because now he was also disturbed about Titus’ welfare. But he turned up in Macedonia and Paul said in 7:6 that he had been comforted by this. But more than that, he had been comforted by the news that Titus brought about the Corinthian congregation – how they had responded positively to the call to repentance in 1 Corinthians, and had boosted Titus so much that he was boosted in his own spirit. As John said in 3 John 4, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. No wonder God said to Elijah in the midst of his great depression, I have 7000 faithful ones who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So God uses the the faithfulness of one Christian to comfort the spirit of another. Never underestimate the power of your own faithfulness in the comfort of others, and conversely, never underestimate the discouraging power of your unfaithfulness. That’s why God designed the church, that we might give and receive comfort in our lives by the presence of one another. In times of trial we need to draw nearer to God and to one another in order to receive that comfort, rather than distance ourselves.
But its true people are often sorry comforters (Job 16:2). We want something more than the feeble efforts of people. We want something of more substance than what people can offer since how good is their word regarding the future etc. God must be the basis of what people give – otherwise what more do we have to offer than others who are in the world without the Christian hope? Cannot they console and comfort too? So there must be a source, a beginning point, a fountain of genuine comfort. In the end there is nothing to say of any real comfort without God. It is God who comforts us (2 Cor. 1:4) so that we can comfort others. So it is God who does the comforting, and we become the medium through which it is transmitted. But before we can comfort others, how is it that we are first comforted by God. Does God repeat empty platitudes? Can platitudes do it for us anyway? – “sorry comforters are you all”. If He does then of what value is it? But what is it of God that we use to comfort? His word. Why His word? Besides being the only articulated communication we have from Him, it is His nature that gives power of comfort to His word – He is the God who cannot lie (Titus 1:1); the God who is able to speak of things that are not as if they are (Rom. 4:17); The God who is able to work all things in accordance with the counsel of His own will; (Eph. 1:11); and the God who is very pitiable and of tender mercy (Jas. 5:11). Apart from His word there is no real comfort!
So God comforts through His word. In suffering we become more aware of the promises that relate to suffering. Who can be tantalised with food when one has a full stomach? But a hungry man can. So it is with scriptural blessings. We pass them over in times of fulness, but in sorrow they stand out from the pages somewhat more. This is not to say that we ought not to be preparing for sorrow in periods of peace and joy. It is in our quiet times that we ready ourselves for the trials that will inevitably come. Nations have been overcome and subjugated by others because in times of peace they grew soft and unprepared. Peace is to be enjoyed, but in a very real sense periods of peace are periods to get your wind and prepare for the next onslaught. The Christian who is just coasting along, not studying, not praying, not striving to grow will be caught short, unprepared, underdone, and too weak in the faith to survive the test of trials that will come. I say “will come” because it is not “if” but “when?” God tests our faith of what sort it is and will it be found wanting in the hour of trial? Adam enjoyed paradise and was not prepared for the trial that the Devil brought – Abraham enjoyed many years of happiness and serenity in his 175 years, but days of trial and sorrow came. The day came when he was told to leave family and home and go to a strange land and live in a tent as a bedoin for the rest of his life. Then he had to send his beloved Ishmael away and then he had to take his son of promise, Isaac, up Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him there. All his life he was saying “goodbye”, and God was asking him “Who do you love most, Abraham?” He survived the testing. Why? It was, in part, because of what he did in the quiet times.
If we draw away from God in the quiet periods, what will we do in trials when God has grown so dim? It’s like people who want nothing to do with God now and yet want to be with Him in heaven for eternity. It doesn’t work that way. My faith in God will suddenly resurrect itself and sustain me in my hour of trouble? Really? More like we might end up just blaming God for our troubles and go under. Ps.1:6; 18:1-3; 23:1-6; 24:1; 27:1; 37:3-5 and so on seemingly ad infinitum deal with troubles in life. Why so much? Because much of it was written in the crucible. The New Testament also focusses on this area of life: Paul says in effect I can get through this, nothing can destroy me (Phil. 4:13); He can do better than I can think and that power works in my life (Eph. 3:20).
God comforts through prayer. There is so much nonsense written about prayer. So many books written by people of all sorts of religious persuasions who all trot out examples of praying and what is considered answered prayer. If all that has been written is true then we would have to conclude that God approved of all false doctrine and all false teachers. Or we would have to conclude that prayer was simply psychological conditioning and P.M.A. (positive mental attitude), and anyone can tap into it regardless of whether they abide in the truth or not. It’s much like replacing the preaching of the gospels with testimonials. Prayer is not a formula like a maths formula which, if you get it right, the correct outcome is spat out. Prayer is labour!
Perhaps the most popular book on prayer in recent times has been Bruce Wilkinson’s book, The Prayer of Jabez. I agree with Charles Hodge who said, The fact that six million people bought the book produces red flags. People buy what they want, not what they need! People want their ears tickled, not their hearts broken. The book is based upon a rather obscure passage among the tedious genealogies of First Chronicles (4:9,10). Using fables, anecdotes, testimonials and a smattering of scripture he develops a procedure that is guaranteed to produce fabulous blessings from Heaven. What is the procedure? Pay the prayer of Jabez every day. He promises that if you will do this you will release God’s favour, power and protection.
Now the practice of performing rituals in order to invoke the services of supernatural beings is not new. Witness the familiar use of “Hail Mary” or “The Lord’s prayer”. Under the guise of spirituality, the main aim is fleshly. Note this quote from p.31: If Jabez had worked on Wall St, he might have prayed, “Lord, increase the value of my investment portfolios”. When I talk to presidents of companies, I often talk to them about this particular mindset. When Christian executives ask me, “Is it right for me to ask God for more business?” my response is, “Absolutely!” If you’re doing your business God’s way, it’s not only right to ask for more, but He is waiting for you to ask.
This book, whilst like all books has some good things to be gleaned for one’s profit, is really advocating the daily recitation of an incantation which is supposed to oblige God to grant our requests. I remember visiting a woman’s home where she had pictures of three things she wanted on the wall – a house, a garden, and a dog. She treated the collection of pictures much like a shrine and prayed before them every day. She was not good soil for a Bible study. So that was Jeremiah’s problem – that poor man, the weeping prophet who endured so much mistreatment through his life and was eventually taken away to Egypt and killed – that man should have recited Jabez’ prayer every day and things would have been different. It certainly wasn’t the prayer of Agur in Prov. 30:7-9. Nor was it the emphasis that Jesus advocated in His model prayer in Matt.6:12 where He said give us this day our daily bread. It is not on a par with Gethsamane where Jesus prayed “Thy will be done”. That Jabez prayed the prayer that he prayed and God saw fit to answer that prayer in the way that He did does not in any way mean that God will grant the same answer to the same prayer to everybody who prays it. It says that he was more honourable and lying deep within that description may be the answer to what attitude and reasons he had for praying such a prayer and why God granted it.
But having said that, there is comfort in prayer, because we are addressing the One who is Master of the Universe, not only omnipotent, but willing to led an ear to the requests of His children. Cast all our cares upon Him, for he cares for us, says the Scripture. To know that Someone who cares is listening is truly reassuring (1 Pet.5:7; Phil.4:6,7)
God comforts through hope of resurrection (Rom. 8:18; 1 Thess.4:13-18). The Bible does not portray the idea that the Christian life is all fun and no sorrow. There is an abiding joy but it is often in the midst of sorrow. It was said of Jesus that He was a man acquainted with sorrow. I’ve seen, you’ve seen, Christians, well-meaning no doubt, who have gone to tearful Christians at a funeral telling them “Don’t cry”, thinking that such sorrow is out of place for a Christian – that it in someway negates the faith they profess to possess. If that we true then what will we do with John 11:35 which records the weeping of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus? What will we do with Jesus’ anguished cry in Matt. 27:46 – My God My God why have you forsaken me? Didn’t he know?! Of course, but a man in pain and anguish is not himself and doesn’t see things as clearly as when in pleasant circumstances. To say that Christians ought not to sorrow is unrealistic and glosses over the sad realities of life (1 Pet. 1:6). Note that 1 Thess. 4:13 does not say “do not sorrow”, but rather says we don’t have to sorrow as others who have no hope (no expectation). There’s something for the Christian that takes the keen edge off that sorrow produced by the loss and finality of death. The Christian can look through tears and see something beyond. It’s not the end for our departed brethren in Christ. Note what the atheist Robert Ingersoll said at the graveside on the occasion of the death of his brother:
My friends I am going to do that which the dead often promised he would do for me. The loved and loving brother, husband, father, friend, died where mankind’s morning almost touches noon, and while the shadows still were falling toward the West. He had not passed on life’s highway the stone that marks the highest point, but being weary for the moment, he laid down by the wayside and, using his burden as a pillow, fell into the dreamless sleep that kisses down his eyelids still. While yet in love with life and raptured with the world, he passed to silence and pathetic dust. Yet, after all, it may be best, just in the happiest, sunniest hour of the voyage, while eager winds are kissing every sail, to dash against the unseen rock, and in an instant hear the billows roar over the sunken ship. For whether in midsea, or amid the breakers of the farther shore, a wreck must mark the end of each and all. And every life, no matter if its every hour is rich with love and every moment jewelled with joy, will at its close, become a tragedy as sad, and deep, and dark as can be woven by the warp and woof of mystery and death…..Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive in vain to look beyond the heights. We cry aloud and the only answer is the echo of our wailing cry. From the voiceless lips of the unreplying dead there comes no sound. Truly eloquent, but so sad, so despairing.
And even when the Christian faces the loss of a loved one outside Christ, there is the knowledge, in the words of Abraham, that the God of all the earth will do right. There is no unrighteousness with Him and every single person, even the lost, will receive the judgment that is perfectly right, just and fair. We can rest in the knowledge that there will be no miscarriage of justice, as occurs in human courts. And whilst it may not be possible for us to conceive of such rightness in this world of sorrow, God is able to wipe away all tears and sorrow so that nothing will mar the joy of that heavenly home.
God comforts through the knowledge of His providence (cf Joseph Gen. 45:5). What we perceive and what is real are often two different things. This is true even in the smallest matters. Something as innocuous and simple as the way somebody can look at us can be misinterpreted and misconstrued to imply hatred or disdain, when the reality might be the person has a headache or is not feeling very well. About fifty years ago there was a brother in the congregation where I was a member who had really poor eyesight and had glasses as thick as the bottom of Coke bottles, and even with those he squinted terribly and he got into trouble with some brethren who thought he was leering at their daughters. How foolish for us to think that we know the mind and the purpose of God with respect to the ins and outs and circumstances of our life. Though we cannot know the detail, we can know this abiding truth – all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His will (Rom.8:28). Chapter eight is known as the diamond in the book of Romans and this verse is called the “sparkle in the diamond”. What a comfort this is. God is working something out down here to fit us for life up there.
In the reign of Queen Mary there was a religious minister by the name of Bernard Gilpin who used to often say “All is for the best”. In dark days his neighbours would say, “Is all for the best now?”. “Yes” he would cheerfully respond, “all is for the best”
He was summoned to London to be tried for heresy. He started off for London expecting to be found guilty and sentenced to death at the stake. Even so, he started off saying “All is for the best”. On the road near Oxford his leg was broken in an accident. “All is for the best”, he still said, and fretted not. Upon his recovery word came again that the Queen was dead and he was at liberty.
I’m sure it was this kind of comforting thinking that enabled Joseph to triumph. I do not think he thought it was a good thing to be sold by his brothers, lied about by Potifar’s wife, be cast into prison and be forgotten by the Butler. But he was comforted by knowing that there was a purpose and he was part of a plan. And later he was able to tell his brothers the plan – now therefore be not grieved, not angry with yourselves, that you sold me here: for God did send me before you to preserve life (Gen. 45:5).
And whatever may befall us in this life there is, for the faithful Christian, the comfort of knowing that there is no power that can overwhelm us without our will. There is the comfort of knowing that 1 Cor. 10:13 is true: there is no temptation but such as is common to man, and God will not allow us to be tempted above our strength, but will with the temptation make a way to escape that we may be able to bear it.. And as Moses blessed Israel in Deut. 33:27: The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.