Daily Journal: 23 July

How Can God

Comfort Me?

When we are distressed it’s sometimes hard to be comforted. God says He will comfort us, but how?

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (AMP)

Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Jesus is our foundation

Jesus is our foundation, carrying the weight of our burdens. He is compassionate and full of mercy. He came to earth and experienced all that we experience. Yet, He was without sin, so He overcame where we continue to struggle. He offers us His solace.

Matthew 7:24-27 is the well-known parable of the wise and foolish builders. The foolish builder built his house (his life) on sand, and hand nothing to stabilise it and ultimately save it. The wise builder built his house on rock (symbolising Jesus as the rock), drilling down into the rock so it was stable and secure in any storm.

The strength of a building’s foundations is central to its stability, carrying its entire weight. In all things, we look to Jesus to be our foundation, carrying the entire weight of our burdens. In Him we have someone to lean on, always. In Him we have someone to trust and rest in, to help us.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11 (NLT)

Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ.

Looking to Jesus as the only source of everything is our strength as believers. Jesus needs to be the foundation of the life we build. Others can comfort and encourage, but no one else can restore and rebuild where the bricks have fallen in our lives. He gives life back to our spirit, and restores our soul.

Building faith

We build our faith through hearing and receiving the Word of God; that is Jesus Christ being revealed in written form by the inspiration given by the Holy Spirit to the writers.

Romans 15:4 (NCV)

Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope.

The promises and the stories of lives passed down in the bible bring us hope throughout life’s challenges and sufferings. Through their stories, we see God's desire and ability to fight for us, to stand by us, to act on our behalf. We see His nature.

The Holy Spirit in us

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. His function is our seal as believers in Jesus Christ’s redemptive work until Jesus Christ returns.

John 14 describes the Holy Spirit as advocate, comforter, helper and teacher, pointing us to Jesus. Through Him we can receive power, love and soundness of mind (2 Timothy 1:7) when we feel like we have no power, no love and we're losing our mind.

God will draw near to us if we draw near to Him.

James 4:8 (NASB)

Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Recognise that, yes, we are sinners and we have a strong tendency to be double-minded. When we draw near to God, we need to draw near with a heart of complete surrender. We can bring our doubts and misgivings, our resentments and frustrations, but we must be prepared to surrender them. If we carry them around with us, God can’t draw near to us because they act like a barrier. That barrier says I won’t let go of these things. I have a right to hold on to them. God will vindicate us because of His justice but we have to be prepared to let things go first. Philippians 4 teaches us how we can let go.

Philippians 4:6-9 (GWT)

Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honourable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable. Practice what you’ve learned and received from me, what you heard and saw me do. Then the God who gives this peace will be with you.

If you're asking, how can God comfort me? Consider these things:

Have I given Jesus Christ the space to be my firm foundation? How am I building my faith in Him, finding my resting place there? Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to fill me, to change me and renew me? Am I drawing near to God and seeking Him?

We're a hurting world. We're a hurting people. I pray God Himself will give us the ability to receive His comfort so that we ourselves can then go and comfort others.