The God of All Comfort
God comforts us in our trouble so that we can bring the love of God and comfort others.
1 Corinthians 1:3-4
Illustration
A very common story, that I'm sure just about every person in this room can understand... A young child is playing with his friends at the park on the playground. He falls, skins his knee, and comes running, crying, to his mom, who is sitting on a park bench. The wound feels practically unbearable to the child, so he screams in pain. But the mother holds him close and comforts him, telling him that it's going to be okay. "Shh. Shh. Quiet now. Mommy's here." Eventually, he calms down, tears still running down his cheeks, but his pain is more bearable because his mom is here with him. He knows he will be okay, just like she said. He trusts her. She cleans off the scrape and bandages the boo-boo, sealing it with a kiss (which makes everything better). And the boy is off playing as if nothing ever happened.
A mother's gentle touch that comforts. A mother's voice that reassures. A mother's presence that calms. A mother's compassion that heals. No this isn't a Mother's Day sermon.
But, even though each of us has probably experienced love like that as small children, how much more precious is the love and comfort God gives us through our suffering, our pain, our hurts, and our sadness?
Do you believe that God can touch each heart and bring us comfort in our time of need? Do you believe that God's voice can reassure and bring us encouragement in our time of doubt and questions? Do you believe that His holy presence is here to calm His child in the midst of overwhelming pain and heartache? Do you believe that God has compassion for His people going through difficulty and is willing and able to heal, to deliver them through it? Is that your God?
If He is, then give Him praise today!
Transition:
I want to talk to you about "The God of all comfort." And I want to point you in His direction. Because I think all of us could use a little comfort today, don't you? Would you pray with me as we ask God to speak to our hearts today?
Let's turn now to 2 Corinthians chapter one verses 3-4.
PASSAGE BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT INFORMATION:
This letter was written by the Apostle Paul just a few years before his first imprisonment in Rome and during the reign of Emperor Nero. It was written to the Church in Corinth. And in this first part of his letter, he gives praise to God who is compassionate and comforts him in suffering for the gospel. In verse eight he says, "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts, we felt the sentence of death, But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God..."
Many times I have heard people say the words, "God will never give you more than you can handle." This is not true. It is not scriptural. God does allow us to face things that are too big for us all the time. Why? Because He's cruel? No. Because He's punishing us? No. Because He wants us to rely on Him, not ourselves. If the things we face are never more than we can handle, then why seek God? Why pray or cry out to Him in our struggles? Why need Him? I mean, after all, we can handle it ourselves, can't we? But what happens when the difficulty, the circumstance, the hardship is bigger than you or me, too big for us to handle, and the questions have no easy answers? What then? As the late Christian singer Rich Mullins once sang, "We are not as strong as we think we are." We're not. But oh we try to be, when God is there like a compassionate Father, arms wide open.
We're not told what this hardship was that Paul faced, but whatever it was, it must have been awful. It must have been so difficult and heartbreaking. It must have been a time of great sorrow and unanswered questions. Why? Because of the way he describes it. "We despaired even of life." One translation says (NLT): "We thought we would never live through it." We gave up on living.
That's some hard stuff, isn't it? That's serious. Maybe it was persecution. There were many times throughout Paul's ministry that he faced this. Many times throughout his missionary journeys he was in danger of dying. One time he was taken to the edge of the city and stoned almost to death, but God kept him alive. He'd been whipped, imprisoned, left to die, and constantly on the run from those who wished to kill him. It says he was under great pressure. Can you imagine the stress he must have been under? Or the times he was afraid? Many people believe that Paul suffered from some sort of physical ailment that made serving God difficult. Hense, the "thorn in his side." But what gave him hope in these circumstances? What gave him comfort?
Father of Compassion and the God of all Comfort:
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV - New International Version)
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
EXPLAIN THE TEXT:
There's a lot of comfort in these verses, isn't there? Literally.
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... The Bible teaches us that God is our Heavenly Father, and this passage reminds us that when we hurt, He is a compassionate father. He's not the kind of father that just tells us to toughen up and stop whining. He hurts with us. He's not afraid to cry with us. He's not too busy to listen. And He's there. He's there in your struggle. He's a compassionate father.
Compassion carries with it the idea that God has deep feelings for us as we go through difficulty or misfortune. He cares. He's not indifferent. It is important to God... your struggle, your hurt, your pain. He's compassionate.
And He is the God of all comfort. I find this interesting because some comforts are not good for us. Some comforts are comforts we shouldn't seek. So how could God be the God of ALL COMFORT? What does that mean? Well, we can think of it in a couple of different ways. For one, all can mean complete, as in ultimate comfort. When other comforts fail or are temporary, God is always there and will never fail you. Another way to think about it is, that all comfort means that He (the person) is all you need for comfort and peace. We seek almost everything else but the thing we most need, which is God Himself. He is all comfort.
And He comforts us in all of our troubles. So give Him praise!
How many of you are thankful for God's comfort right now? Amen? But does He? Do you allow Him to be the comfort in all of your troubles? Do you run to Him like that child ran to his mother? Or do we run to other things for comfort?
Paul said that was thankful, he praised God for being that compassionate father and God of all comfort in all of his many troubles.
To Comfort Others:
2 Corinthians 1:4 (NIV - New International Version)
4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
EXPLAIN THE TEXT:
Why does God comfort us? Well because He loves us, right? Yes. We are His beloved children, but He also has an even greater purpose in mind. You see we are promised that in this world we will have what? Trouble. But we can be encouraged because Christ has overcome the world. So through Him, we can overcome too. And how many times has God taken things that the devil meant to harm us and used them for good? How many times have our troubles in life, our experiences in life where God has brought us through it given us a testimony that becomes the source of encouragement for others who are going through it too? You see, God uses us to be His hands and feet, His loving arms to hold, His shoulders to cry on, His ears to listen, His words of mercy and hope. The comfort that you have received from God becomes a source of comfort for others. Your hardship and your hurt have a wonderful purpose in that! As you trust in God through this time, your test becomes the testimony to others that there is hope in hardship.
We can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. Isn't that wonderful?
He has and will deliver us:
2 Corinthians 1:10-11 (NIV - New International Version)
10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
EXPLAIN THE TEXT:
Listen to the power of hope in these verses. He has delivered us and He will deliver us again. Do you hear that? Do you get that?
God has been faithful. He has helped us before. He has been our anchor in the time of storm. He has been our comfort and healer. He has been our peace and strength. And He will be again! He will be again! You may not feel it now or yet, but do you believe it?
And he says: On Him, we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us. Oh friends, do you trust in Jesus this morning? Do you know as your compassionate Father, your God of all comfort, and your deliverer? Is He your deliverer?
You see, Paul is using this as a testimony to the Corinthian believers who may be going through some difficulty of their own. He's saying, "Trust in God. He has delivered me and He will deliver you."
And how do we help each other through the difficulties of life? Oh, we are good about promising it, but are we good about actually doing it? Praying for each other. "As you help us by your prayers." Isn't it a good feeling when you know you're being prayed for during your times of difficulty? Doesn't that reminder give you just a little more hope, that people are praying for you? Do you know that right now there are people willing to pray for you? That's what we're here to do, folks. To lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ to the one who can help us with anything.
Conclusion:
Some of you came in this morning when deep hurt in your heart. Maybe you didn't feel like coming to church and being around people, but you came anyway. Something just told you that you needed to be here. I think that's God. I think God knows exactly what you're feeling right now and He wants you to know that you're not alone. That He cares. That He's here and He wants to comfort you through this. He wants to hold you near and tell you it's going to be okay. He wants you to know that it will heal if you give it time and trust Him. He will be your healer, your comfort, your peace, your hope, your strength, your answer, and your God.
And some of you, some of you this morning have been through things in your life. God's brought you through them, blessed you through them, comforted you through them, and you can be that testimony that comforts others through the tests they are facing. Don't let that opportunity pass you by. Be the one who shares God's love with the ones who need His comfort right now.
We are going to sing a song of invitation this morning and as we do I just ask that you reach out to the God of all comfort.
