Comfort in Tribulation

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.  For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.”  II Corinthians 1:3-5

God is a God of mercy.  Mercy originated with Him.  Without His mercy, no one would be able to receive eternal life in heaven or peace within his or her heart while still a resident of this sin-cursed world.  God is the One who set forth the plan of salvation for His creation.  God was not obligated to arrange for man’s reconciliation with his Creator.  Adam and Eve were living in innocence in the Garden of Eden until they disobeyed God.  After their fall, men and women could no longer be seen as innocent in God’s eyes.  The capacity to sin was within Adam and Eve all the time because they were given free will, and when Satan deceived them, their sin nature manifested itself not only to God but also showed the two of them that they were no longer innocent but guilty before their Maker.  The first thing they did was to recognize their nakedness and try to hide from God.  But because God is a merciful God, He made the way for man to return to an innocent state through the death of His sinless Son, Jesus Christ.  That is why God is known as the Father of mercies.

God is also the God of all comfort because He knows how to comfort us in whatever situation we find ourselves, whether it is illness, personal loss, disappointment, or tribulation.  Regardless of our troubles, God gives us hope that we will come out of it better and stronger which will enable us to help others who are in similar situations, sort of a “pay it forward” way to share the love and mercy that has been given to us by the Lord.  Many believe that the Bible says that “God helps those who help themselves”, but that is nowhere to be found in scripture because it is inaccurate.  God helps those who can’t help themselves.  Of course, there are things that we can do to alleviate our situation (faith in action), but there are some things that only God can do to help us.

In Matthew 5:11, Jesus told His disciples (and us) that when we suffer for Him, we are blessed.  He tells us to rejoice if we are persecuted for His sake because our reward will be great.  It’s not just about the reward that we will receive, but it is the comfort with which Christ will surround us in our times of suffering and persecution.  There is an old gospel song that was written in 1932, during the Great Depression, by Will M. Ramsey entitled “He Whispers Sweet Peace to Me”.  The last part of the chorus goes like this:  “When I am cast down/In spirit and soul/He whispers sweet peace to me”.  Many of the gospel songs that were written in the 1930’s and 1940’s were about heaven and about the comfort that Jesus provides in suffering.  Folks don’t write many songs like these today, I think, mostly because prosperity has become a worldly substitute for comfort, albeit one that cannot stand the test of time.

Regardless of the amount of suffering we will receive because we are followers of Christ, we can be assured that our consolation will be more than enough to make up for our suffering.  I haven’t asked anyone their opinion on suffering, but my guess is that 100 per cent of folks do not favor suffering.  On the flip side, I am sure if they were asked about comfort and happiness, everyone would embrace them.  However, most people know that no one gets through life unscathed.  Very little seems to go our way, even for unbelievers.  They may seem to not be suffering, but who knows what suffering takes place in their minds.  Are they truly happy or is the guilt of sin keeping them from enjoying life?

For the believer, though, he or she has within his or her heart a joy even in the most painful of circumstances for they know that pain and hardship will eventually give way to an eternity of a pain free, secure, and peaceful life forever.  So, for now, not knowing what the future holds, and if the new leaders of our nation go through with their proposed policies, I predict life will get harder, particularly for believers.  Time will tell.  However, God will give us the grace to face these challenges as they come as long as we depend on Him and not let despair overtake us.  If you don’t remember anything that I have written, please remember this:  “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4).  God will always have our back.