What a Wonderful Name: Comforter

I think that we all experience some sort of trial and grief more than once through our lives. I know that for my family, we are in the midst of watching my grandmother fade away. She was diagnosed with a disease that has taken her away from us slowly for the past several years, and now she lies in bed and we wait. While it will be more rejoicing for she will be free from this awful disease and with her Savior, we have all missed the wonderful woman she once was. My grandfathers have both labored over their wives, giving them the best last years they could, loving them hard and patiently (we lost my other Grandmother almost a year ago). They both are in the midst of grief, and need comfort more than we can give.

I'm sure that if you took a moment you could think of those who are in the midst of grieving, or you may be in the middle of a difficult trial or loss, needing a comfort greater than any human could give. I came across a blogger on Instagram who lost her son who wasn't even two years old. There are Jewish families grieving the loss of those senselessly killed in the Synagogue Saturday. I don't doubt that you are grieving some loss in your life at this very moment. Whether it be a pet, a loved one, a friendship that couldn't stand the test of time, an opportunity, something.

The world is full of darkness, defeats, and losses. We all face them daily, and we need comfort. We search high and low for a satisfactory comfort, one that wraps us up, tells us it is all going to be okay, but it's okay to cry, too. Some people search and search, and never find the true comfort they need. They turn to numbness instead. I've seen it happen many times.

Today, I'm here to share comfort with you through this difficult time. The holidays are fast approaching, and it is oh-so-hard to face them when you simply want to grieve the ones you have lost. There is a Comfort greater than will ever be known. A Comfort that encompasses all hurt and heals all brokenness. A Comfort that lasts us a lifetime, a Comfort that never leaves us nor forsakes us. That Comfort is the Trinity.

Our suffering is inevitable, unfortunately. Everyone will face it at some point. If you haven't yet, you will. That can be such a devastating thought. Why, if God loves us, is suffering inevitable? Why does He allow terrible things to happen to us? That question has been asked for years and if often the cause of people's denial of Christ. I don't have any answer to that question, and I am deeply sorry. If you look at the story of Job (I encourage you to read that story for yourself, it is incredible and a wonderful reminder that trials are not always punishments), he was a godly man who faced greater losses than most of us do today. He lost his wealth, he lost all of his children, he lost his home, and he lost his health. He was berated and judged by his "friends" and told by his own wife to curse God and die already. Yet, he had served God faithfully all of his life, and loved God wholeheartedly. Job, not once, blamed God or rejected God throughout this great trial.

Sadly, though we serve God endlessly and never once sin (impossible), we will not avoid the difficulties of this life. Even Job could not escape loss and grief. Suffering will always be apart of the human, earthly life.

Even Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, suffered greatly. In church on Sunday mornings we have been learning about the crucifixion story, and just how much Jesus truly suffered. He suffered from the heavy + overwhelming burden of carrying the sins of the world on His shoulders so much that He literally sweat drops of blood. His beard was ripped from his face, and He was scourged. We learned that a scourging was done with the cat of nine tails. It was a leather whip with nine strands, with pieces of glass and thorn inside of it. Most of the time, scourging was a death sentence. After being ripped to shreds, Jesus had to carry the weight of a 100 pound cross at least half a mile up and down hills. He had a crown of thorns digging into his scalp, He was naked and dehydrated, and then He had long nails hammered into his wrists and feet. He hung there in front of Jerusalem until He finally gave up the ghost. We cannot imagine being treated this way, and that is what the Son of God had to endure. Much more, probably the most difficult way to suffer in my eyes, Jesus was forsaken by His Father. He was forsaken because our Sinless Jesus became Sin so that we might reach Him in eternity.

That is some deep suffering, and if anyone needed comfort, it was Jesus.

As you can see, suffering happens to all, even God in the Flesh. I do not say this to belittle your suffering and loss at this time, but to gently remind you that you are not alone. Even Jesus knows the pain of suffering, and He is on your side.

There is loss and suffering, but even more, there is comfort!

Brokenness without comfort brings hopelessness, and God does not want us hopeless. Hopelessness is not apart of His will, and that is why He gave to us Jesus.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11.

God has plans of hope for His children. We find this hope in Jesus, who did not suffer in vain, and who did not ascend to Heaven and leave us alone. He promised us a Comforter, a Helper, to guide us in His place. That is the Holy Spirit (see John 14:16-19). Jesus did not leave us to wander the earth lost, weary, and broken. He left us with a Comforter who lives inside of each believer. That Comforter, His Spirit, daily utters the deepest pains of your soul to the Father, asking for His comfort to embrace you when you do not know the words to ask for yourself. To grasp this type of Comfort, you must only accept the Savior Jesus into your life, and His healing will take place.

God Himself comforts us, and promises that if we suffer with Christ, we shall also be comforted with Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

There is no promise that we will be able to escape suffering, but there is great promise of comfort. We shall suffer with Christ until we take our last breath, but His comfort will be with us for eternity. Oh friend, if you are weary and troubled, if there is no light in the darkness, take a look at the Savior, and the comfort of His love, mercy, and grace will wash over you. If you are tired, and don't want to get out of bed, God is with you, and He will give you rest.

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Exodus 33:14

We are not alone in our weariness. The presence of the One True God can go with you daily. You can lean on Him and your weary, grieved heart can be rested. I do not want you to walk away to do and not know that there is comfort for you in the midst of your loss. There is abundant comfort and healing, friend, please take it as it is offered freely. I can't promise it will be over today, or tomorrow, or even next month, but His Comfort will guide you until you can breathe again.

I urge you to take the comfort that you have received and give it to those hurting. Take your comfort and give it to others who now need it more.

I pray today, that your heart is encouraged and that the God of all Comfort draws you close to Him.