The God of All Comfort

In the song “You Hold Me Now” by Hillsong United, the chorus goes like this: No weeping/ no hurt or pain/ no suffering/ you hold me now/ you hold me now/ no darkness/ no sick or lame/ no hiding/ you hold me now/ you hold me now. That comes right out of Revelation 21:4 and is a beautiful picture of how God will take away all the things that hurt and cause pain and suffering and sorrow. That is definitely something we should look forward to when Jesus returns, but the reality is that right now, we still have pain and suffering. So how does God speak to us in the midst of that?

Read 2 Corinthians 1:1-11

What are the things in our lives that have caused or are causing us pain? Broken relationships? Death or sickness for loved ones? Take a moment to reflect on the things that hurt and bring you pain.

Often we get caught up in why God allows us to experience pain. Why do we have to lose loved ones? Why do the people we care about get sick and suffer? What we often forget is that regardless of the His reason, God’s character does not change. And the fact of the matter is that God is the God of all comfort because comfort is rooted in his nature. He IS comfort. 2 Cor 1:3-4a “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”

This is the awesome thing about God. When He makes us a promise, He ALWAYS delivers. If we ask with genuine faith, God always answers. The way He comforts may change, the timing may change, but God will comfort.

Take a moment to ask God to remind you that He is the God of All Comfort. Ask him to bring you comfort in the midst of difficult circumstance or sorrow. Lift these things up to Him knowing that He does comfort.

So why does God comfort us? First of all, God comforts us because He loves us. That’s it. He cares about us, he has compassion on us. He sees our suffering and pain and as the perfect Father he comforts us. It’s who he is. But God also comforts us because he wants us to comfort others. 2 Cor 1:4 “[God] 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.” He wants to use you to be a light to others. To tell your story of how the God of the universe knew your pain and brought you comfort. To reassure those around you that your God does indeed comfort. That he has compassion and mercy.

Think about the pain and suffering God has comforted you in. How might you be able to use that painful situation and the comfort that came to tell others about who God is?

Paul does exactly this in 2 Cor 1:10, “He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”