The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The God Of All Comfort"
The Apostle Paul identifies the Lord with one of Scripture's most beautifully descriptive titles…
"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort" (II Corinthians 1:3).
The God of all comfort. The Old Testament also speaks of such assurance, "His tender mercies are over all His works" (Psalm 145:9). What a heart of grace and mercy this reveals of the Creator who seeks to be a loving Father to all who see and avail themselves of His "very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). I think of this in light of a friend mentioning a father who recently killed his young son by accidentally driving over him. One can only imagine the pain known by the man and his family. But we can know how much our Father comforts those who will turn to Him. As we pray, let us believe that God can and will console, strengthen, and rescue all who loved the child, and who will turn to Him through faith in the Lord Jesus, another son who suffered and died by a Father's actions (Acts 2:23). Yes, our Father knows about such things, and He will surely be "the God of all comfort" to all who bring their hearts to His heart. "The Lord is full of compassion" (Psalm 86:15).
We pray in many ways as believers, seeking God's grace for others and for ourselves. Comfort surely serves as one of the primary requests offered in a world so full of pain, sorrow, and loss. Our hurts matter to the Lord who "hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows" (Isaiah 53:4). While many of our challenges are self-inflicted, whether by intention or accident, God desires to comfort us more than we desire to be comforted. We must come to Him in the way He has made through the Lord Jesus, of course, and in accordance with His Word. As we do, we shall find Him willing and able to administer His loving solace in ways we could never anticipate, and in a measure far greater than seems possible. "God… comforteth those that are cast down" (II Corinthians 7:6).
We grieve for the father and family mentioned. As does the Lord "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Hebrews 4:15). Remembering the compassion of His heart and the power of His hand leads us to seek our Father's comfort for the fallen, the cast down, the shattered, and the brokenhearted. We do not sink into our grief, but rather kneel before our Heavenly Father with confidence that He can and will do something of marvelous grace and mercy in situations that seem almost hopeless. "The God of all comfort" does such things continually, in answer to prayers offered by those who feel that pains of others, and who feel His pain for others. No more beautiful title for our Lord can be found in His Word, nor can any more beautiful quality of His glorious heart.
"The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
(James 5:11)
Weekly Memory Verse
If God be for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31)
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