Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 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 tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
"The Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation"
This is a crazy world we live in. There’s no getting around that. And it seems, as I get older, that the craziness just increases year by year, month by month, even sometimes day by day.
I think part of it is that we know so much more now than previous generations have known about what’s going on in the world. With a tap of a finger, we can access—usually on our smart phones—news headlines from across the entire planet: what’s going on in the US, what’s going on in the Middle East, what’s going on in Africa. And all with glowing (and often disconcerting) images. The evil that is in the world becomes very real when it’s displayed with video.
Tribulation. In the Greek, thlipsis (Strong’s G2347). It is anything which burdens the spirit.
I think that people are greatly burdened these days. It doesn’t matter that most basic creature comforts come readily to our fingertips. We are greatly burdened by demands on our minds to change how we think and act toward others; by events that influence our lives but which we cannot change; fears that the future may not be better, but in fact may continue to spiral out of control. We wake up expecting—even just hoping—that somehow life will get better "today" only to find that our circumstances continue to disappoint, even bring more turmoil, more concern, more pain. The cry seems to be going out from all quarters: "Is there nowhere to turn?"
And yet, God—our God—the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. All comfort. The Greek pas (Strong’s G3956) meaning "all, every, any, thoroughly" (emphasis mine). In every situation, for every circumstance, through every pain and heartache, our Father—the God who has given us permission to cling to Him and call Him by His name—has promised to provide completely and thoroughly comfort in our time of distress.
"If I say, ‘My foot slips,’ Your mercy, O Lord, will hold me up. In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." (Psalm 94:18-19 NKJV).
Our Father’s promise is to provide mercy and comfort through every situation; there is nothing He can’t do and nowhere He won’t go. When we sin (when our foot slips), He is faithful with His mercies to forgive. When we are surrounded with anxiety, His comfort within our very soul is there to delight us.
"Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life. . . . Let, I pray, Your merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Your word to Your servant. Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for Your law is my delight." (Psalm 119:49-50, 76-77).
His promise is that His Word, given to us from His very heart and preserved over these many years by His own Spirit, will be our comfort when we turn to Him. There isn’t a calamity that our Father hasn’t already seen, not a trouble for which He hasn’t already provided what we need, not a pain for which He hasn’t already given comfort. We simply need to turn to Him, to open His Word, and seek that which He has already given.
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:1-3 NKJV).
Our Father in Heaven, let it be so.
© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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