Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Orange Moon Cafe "The God of All Comfort"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…   


"The God of All Comfort"

      
     The New Testament refers to all three Persons of the triune Godhead in terms of comfort. 

  "Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work" (II Thessalonians 2:16-17).
     "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you" (John 16:7).

    Our Lord draws even nearer than usual to our hearts when we hurt.  "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).  This does not always means He removes our difficulty, or extricates us from it.   His presence does, however, provide the grace to endure when the purposes of God require our challenges to remain with us for a time.  "My grace is sufficient for thee" declared the Lord to Paul when a painful thorn was allowed to linger (II Corinthians 12:9). Our calling in such times involves the challenge of trusting our Lord's promised presence, and believing that His purposes, while perhaps completely unknown to us, are being fulfilled for the glory of the Lord Jesus, our benefit, and the blessing of others who will gain because we sought the Lord in our loss.  

   We rightly rejoice when God's comfort involves deliverance from our challenges.  "This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles" (Psalm 34:6).  We must also make the challenging choice to rejoice when our Heavenly Father's "very present help" means that He comforts our hearts without removing our thorns.  He is able to inspire such grace, such sufficient grace in the most difficult conditions, circumstances, and situations.  This is who He is as "the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation" (II Corinthians 1:.3-4).  And this is what He does to strengthen and encourage us whether He removes our thorns, or allows them to linger.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.  Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me."
(Psalm 23:4)

Weekly Memory Verse
    Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son, and if son, then an heir of God through Christ.
 (Galatians 4:7).


  






















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