Oh Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Now don't get carried away because of my title. I know you Christmas carol nazis are about to lynch me for mentioning a Christmas song before December first, but just take a deep breath. That's it....in.....and out. It's going to be alright. :o)

I'm not really talking about Christmas carols at all, but I am talking about the comfort that is mentioned in one of them. Today's meditation was on God's attribute of Comfortor. He is our Comfortor. While I can't fathom why He would want to comfort us, I know He does. It is a part of who He is. He comforts like nothing and no one else because He created us and knows us better than anyone. He knows what will and will not comfort us.

Take a look at what scripture says about it...

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

3 All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.  

God doesn't just "make us feel better." He doesn't just "show us mercy." He IS mercy. He IS comfort. He is THE SOURCE of all comfort and mercy. Without God, comfort would not exist.

Please be advised that when I say "comfort," I am not talking about a nice house, boat, 401 K, and fully funded retirement fund. I am talking about the type of comfort that you experience when nothing dulls the pain. When your heart is broken and nothing can make it feel better, He comforts. When you feel lost and lonely even when you are surrounded by friends and family who love you, He comforts. When you've lost your job, your home, or the second chance you really hoped to get, He comforts.

There is no pain on earth that God can't comfort. I have experienced His comfort on many occasions and there's nothing quite like it. I love how the passage above takes it to another level, though. While God delights in comforting us, He doesn't just take all of our problems away. He helps us survive them, learn from them, and grow because of them. Why? Verse four above tells us that He does it so that we can share the comfort of God with hurting people. However, some people are not open to God and they don't know or don't believe that He can comfort them. So how can they be comforted without The Comfortor?

You. Me. We can bring the comfort of God to hurting people who have no hope and share with them the hope we have. Isn't it nice to know that even pain and suffering can be used for good when we know the Comfortor?