God is our Comforter

“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.”- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ^NIV

            The Apostle Paul‘s character & authority to minister on behalf of the Lord had come under attack, so he wrote this letter to the Corinthian church to set the record straight. More specifically, our text is saying that God had comforted him and those with him along with the church’s prayer support. It was important to say to his readers that their comfort and support ministered to Paul and company that they might also be a comfort to others. Likewise, the Corinthians believers were to take this example and comfort others even as they had been comforted.

            Stressful times are no different today as they were back in Bible times. Some are better equipped to handle it, some are not, but with God as our source of peace and comfort we need not be stressed at all. Paul makes it clear in verse 10 that God delivered them from deadly peril, and he will deliver them again as is necessary. The only sure and constant hope they had, and we have as well is God alone. Only God can deliver us from calamity. He is our only hope.

            Let’s be clear about this, because God is our comforter, this does not mean our problems will suddenly disappear. If that were true, then we would seek him only to remove our pain and suffering and not out of our love for him. Troubles will always be here with us. It is through our dealings with trials that we become better prepared to minister to the needs of others. So, you see there is a purpose for everything we go through. God’s ways are not our ways. He causes and/or allows everything that takes place in this life for his own purposes and our edification, therefore, we shouldn’t balk at trouble. Learn what the Lord is trying to teach you through your trial and tuck that lesson away for future reference. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

Richard Keller

Bread of Life Ministries