Arming The Saints Blog

Did you know that we have access to the ultimate in comfort during those times when life has hurt us or broken our hearts?

The Greek work for comfort is paraclese or parakaleo, and you may recall hearing the Holy Spirit referred to the Comforter or Paraclete.

John 15:26 (KJ) – “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me”

John 14:16 (KF) – “And I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.”

A decision to follow Jesus – to believe what he said about both himself and you – means that you are given the Holy Spirit to reside within you. If you read enough stuff about the Holy Spirit, you’ll see conflict and confusion unlike any other topic (some churches don’t even teach on it!) But despite any disagreement on the form and function of the Holy Spirit among various religions, I believe that God’s Spirit indwells believers quite literally. That’s really an awesome thought, and it means that it is proof that God is ALWAYS with us and ALWAYS there to provide comfort and guidance to us.

When we are going through a difficult time, we often use our friends and families as sounding boards for advice, but we should really be relying on our Father FIRST by getting into the Word and prayer constantly throughout the day. Our Father is the source of our comfort, and so relying on Him is something that we need to make a focused effort to do at the outset. His advice is always the true and right path – even if it seems hard or makes us initially nervous! The comfort comes from following God obediently.

Second Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (NIV)

This single verse shows us that our comfort from God creates a duty to give comfort to others. And it goes the other way, too. Much like the idea of reaping and sowing, if we share our comfort, we will receive comfort from God and others.

We know that we live in a very painful and difficult world that is dominated by the enemy. Accordingly, it’s our duty to keep our wits about us and to properly process the things that happen to us and to others so that we can provide comfort and support. We live in a time much like in the time of Isaiah where “good” is called “evil” and “evil” is called “good” so relying on the Word of God is crucial for telling what is coming from whom.  We must not fall prey to the lies and deceptions of the enemy, and we must not allow ourselves to feel like victims. After all, we’ve already won this fight!

We have a compassionate loving Father that wants the best for us.  He will allow us to grow through our difficulties and assist us to weather any storm.  His compassion and comfort for us is shown not only through comfort of knowing He loves us, but also through comfort and encouragement from others and the Word, and through the experiences of personal and spiritual growth from other difficulties we have overcome.

Some form of the word “comfort” is found 69 times in the NIV Bible – 19 of these are in the New Testament.  “Encouragement” is often used as comfort, and this word is found 55 times in the NIV. The fact that the word is used so often is a great reminder that God does love us and care for our wellbeing. As God’s children, we need God’s comfort.  We need to know God cares about us and we need the comfort that can only be given through the promises in his Word.

I have always loved Isaiah 40:29-31, but now it has an added dimension: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. 
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Those of us who hope in the Lord will renew our strength, and that gives us comfort. We will soar like eagles and not grow weary or faint, and that gives us comfort.  So much of the frailty that we feel when we need comfort – weariness, tiredness, weakness, and faintness – can be overcome by finding hope and faith in God. Rest in His comfort, strength and love.

So keep your head up and focused on God when you feel down, walk in His strength when you are weary and tired, and breathe in the Holy Spirit when you feel faint. As you go through the day, keep saying the simple phrase “Jesus in me” to remind you of the promises of God. Keep His Word close to you and hide it in your heart and be encouraged that He will guide you through the tough times!