“The God Of All Comfort”

II Corinthians 1:3-7

3) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

4) 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.

5) For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

6) And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.

7) And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.

M

any get out of the will of God trying to find comfort in something or someone outside of Him. If one is honest, when he is finished avoiding the Only One Who can help him, he will acknowledge that for what he ultimately receives. from God, there is no substitute.

The only way that we ever are able to get what God has for us is that we persevere, “press through,” and make our way to Him! You see, when we conduct ourselves as human beings, we are always on a quest for “autonomy” (or, “self- governance”). Being “forced” (as it were) to humble ourselves, we find that His goal in getting us to come to Him is not for humiliation (as we see it), but rather, for edification.

It is no secret that we “run” from that. which we feel will cause us stress or inconvenience. However, this appears only to be true concerning spiritual things, for those of us into bettering our health or our bodies will endure whatever stress is necessary in order to achieve our “desired results.”

Upon salvation, we entered a brand new, humanly incomprehensible life. There is nothing about it that can be measured by our “old standards” nor understood by any “education” that we have received previously. Since we came into this life through the Spirit, we must live it by the Spirit! Therefore, we must accept, by faith, all that He says and then, move in, by and through His direction.

Many times, we have spoken of the proverbial butterfly, which, upon hatching, will perish should one attempt to make its way from the cocoon “easier.” So it is with the creation called Man. If, on his fledgling spiritual journey, his way should be made too “easy,” his “death” will be swift and sure. You see, it is the “obstacles” that, rather than stop us, are to strengthen us and make us more determined to reach our goal. It is the mark of the selfish, insecure human being to be stopped by the first opposition that is leveled against him.

“Resistance” and “rebellion” are both marks of self-protection. One only attempts to protect that which he feels is important and/or valuable. The only thing associated with “self' is the human being, so, in point of fact, one who attempts to protect himself is attempting to maintain his humanity—and such an one has missed the entire purpose of salvation.

One of the saddest individuals is one who comes to salvation, yet persists in trying to “better” himself as a human being. If it had been possible to be “better” as we were, we would not have needed the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Therefore, this individual has “wasted” two lives—his own as well as Jesus.

We live in a day in which the manifest presence of Jesus is not necessarily what is sought after by Man. Rather, “things” are “learned” that Man might handle his being “in Christ” as he does most other things—as a “business” or a means to a personal “end.” Well, faith is not granted to us that we might amass gain, but rather, that we might come to accept that we have been equipped to serve” Him and walk in His purpose for our lives.

Exercised in this way, faith will bring us comfort. You see, nothing and no one can be comfort to one unless there is confidence on the part of the believer. “All comfort” cannot be ours unless we exercise “all faith.” To get to this “desired end,” we are going to have to accept that God made provision for all He knew that we would need. Once this is accepted, we cannot fail but to be comforted.

When one knows that Someone has “got your back,” you enter all situations with a confidence and swagger not put on, but that is part of one's everyday demeanor. Once God is allowed to “prove” Himself to us, we are in a position where it will be “no sweat” for us to help others to “hold on.” This will be because we know that the “holding on” is already profitable because the God that we serve has not and will not ever let one promise drop to the ground!

Drowning men cannot afford to fight against currents or rescuers. Every human being is a “drowning man,” whose only hope is the God of his creation. Those of us who are presented as the “hope” of a lost world are to glory in tests and trials, because having received the same Spirit as the One Who “birthed us,” we, too, must look to fulfill our responsibility and advance in the Lord—that we might provide hope for those who are hopeless.