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.

2 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV

I was reading this passage the other day and had an aha moment: we are comforted by God. This passage has always been used to explain how God uses our “afflictions” for good, but if you read it again, we ourselves are comforted by God! Not only is he comforting us, but he is the God of all comfort.

Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.

Isaiah‬ ‭49‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT

Amazing! Comfort is in the very nature of God.

The Lord says, “I am the one who comforts you. So why should you be afraid of people? They are only humans who live and die like the grass.”

Isaiah‬ ‭51‬:‭12‬ ‭ERV

If you were to write out a job description for God, I believe you would see Comforting People right up there with Love Unconditionally.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever— the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.

John‬ ‭14‬:‭16‬-‭17‬ ‭AMP

God—Holy Spirit—has this job description in the Greek word paraklētos, which means someone who is called to come alongside.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount gives us this promise:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬ ‭ESV

The psalmist confirms this promise of comfort.

Now let your unfailing love comfort me, just as you promised me, your servant.

Psalms‬ ‭119‬:‭76‬ ‭NLT

At church, the pastor reminded us that just as Jesus is the Light of the world, so are we. As we reflect who God is in this world, we are instructed to comfort others in their afflictions as he would.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

And while we are at it—

Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love. This is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning.

Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭TPT‬‬

With comfort, encouragement, compassion, and love—this is how we need to operate in this day.

Are you in need of comfort? Open your heart, the God of all comfort will come alongside you. He will make a way, one way or another.

Grace & Peace,

Sandy

Image from Canva.