Comfort and consolation!
Verse for Today: Tuesday, October 04, 2011
1 Corinthians 7:6 – But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.
One of the attributes of God is that He is a great comforter. He comforts all His children who need consolation and encouragement, especially when they go through rough patches of life. But He takes special care to comfort those who are downcast and depressed because of the various battles they have in life. Many a time, they feel frustrated by failures and losses and find it difficult to get peace and rest in life. It is at these times that the Lord goes to them and very specially minister to their needs. He touches them and pours in oil and wine to cool their aching hearts. When their feelings are hurt, He applies the Balm of Gilead to heal them. He takes them to His banquet hall to fill them with His goodness. He fills them with His Spirit who fortifies their hearts from getting weary and miserable. God does this through many means. Sometimes it is through a message or meditation from the Word. Sometimes it is through a telephone call or a letter from a dear one with words of encouragement and sympathy. Some other times we learn about the prayer support from some dear saints. There are other occasions when we get a visitor who is very dear to our hearts. His visit takes away the loneliness and depression that we go through and lifts up our sagging spirits. Apostle Paul found such a comfort every day from the Lord. He especially enjoyed the special comfort brought to him by the visit of his beloved associate Titus. When we are short of comfort in our souls, it is appropriate for us to spend more time with the Lord in His presence with His Word. It is also expedient to spend time with our prayer partners in the presence of the Lord.
Dear friend, are you downcast with tensions, anxieties, stress, failures, rejection or loneliness today? Have you lost comfort in your life? Are you nurturing the wounds others inflicted in you? Even though these depressing feelings are real in our daily lives, we do not need to get ourselves bogged down because of it. This is because our Lord who is the greatest comforter is with us all the time. He has also given us His Spirit whose ministry to us is to fortify our hearts so that we would not be downcast and depressed. The Word of God is full of comforting and encouraging pronouncements from the Lord for us to read and meditate. These verses will sink deep in our hearts and trickle down to our lives to bind us in the joy of the Lord. But the Lord also sends soothing and comforting communications from our dear ones in the Lord in the form of letters, calls or even visits. Such comforters are the like the Spirit of God coming to us on the wings of a dove. They lift our sagging souls and allow us to soar in the spiritual horizon. Paul often had such visitors who comforted him. Peter was comforted by an angel. So was the case with Elijah and Gideon. Abraham had visitors from Heaven to comfort and strengthen him. Jacob met with the Lord Himself at Bethel and Paniel. The Lord comforted John at the Island of Patmos. Dear friend, if you need comfort, tell your Lord about it and wait for Him to comfort you through His Word and His Spirit. He will console you if you sit at His feet and listen to Him. He will also send His messengers on your way with soothing words to comfort and encourage you. When we have all these avenues of comfort, why should we grumble or loose hope?
2 Corinthians 1:3 – 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.
Thought for Today
God’s comfort is a balm which takes away the pain from our souls and fills us with the aroma of His joy and peace.
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