Comfort

Lesson One • Amen
Devotion 6: Comfort
Jill Osmon 

There are a lot of differing views of what God actually promises us. We see cultural concepts creep in when we look at what God promises us. If we view 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 through the lens of the world, it would tell you that God will not let pain, affliction, or sadness come to His people. That if we love God, He will shape a life for us that is free of pain, heartache, affliction, and anything we would not like.

It does not stop there. It is not just the world that looks at this through a different lens, but we have a whole religious belief system that teaches that it is not God’s will for us to suffer. They explain that if you are suffering, you did not pray enough or follow God’s Word closely enough. 

Both of these views are distorted views of the promises of God. Let us look at 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 closely, “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.” 

What sticks out to you? Do you see it? God will comfort us (Hallelujah!), but He comforts us from affliction. That means that we will have affliction in our lives. That is really difficult to process sometimes. It is difficult when you are serving Him, and He allows sickness, death, tragedy, or trauma to happen, and you feel like God has abandoned you. We do not feel comforted. We feel alone and betrayed. 

I have lived in that valley before, facing a cancer diagnosis and not understanding why God would allow it to happen. I have served Him so faithfully, and yet He has allowed this to happen. In my pain and sorrow, I have to choose what lens I see it through. Do I see it as the world sees it? The mindset that since God allowed this, He must have broken a promise, abandoned me, or that He does not even exist. 

The other choice is to remember Lamentations 3:21-23, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” 

I cling to His actual promises found all over the Bible. Psalm 119:50 says, “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life.” In Psalm 119:76, we read, “Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant.” 

I believe that God is Who He says He is, and I can trust Him to give me comfort in my afflictions. It is comfort from the God of the universe, the God who created all things, and from the King of kings. That is the comfort that will wrap me in His unwavering arms and give me a peace that surpasses all understanding. I would choose that comfort over everything the world has to offer, to claim that promise. 

The idea of God giving us comfort does not end when we receive it, but He calls us to action. God, in His infinite wisdom, knows that those who walk a difficult road are in a unique position to offer an earthly comfort that is born out of heavenly comfort. Do not keep it to yourself. In 2 Corinthians 1:4, it says, “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.” We know how to offer comfort because we received it from the ultimate Comforter. 

When I meet other cancer patients and survivors, I know the intimate struggles of that journey. I can empathize with the loneliness, fear, and pain. I can take the comfort I received from God’s promise and offer a piece of that to help point them to the ultimate comfort given by God. 

I do not know the affliction you have endured throughout your life, but I know you have them. If you feel alone and lost in the affliction, let me give you good news. God promises you He will comfort you. Let that be an encouragement because I know that God is Who He says He is, and He will always fulfill His promises. 

If you have received God’s comfort, are you looking for opportunities to share that comfort? Tell people that God is there in their afflictions, and He will give them the comfort that they seek. It is a supernatural comfort that can only be from Him.