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The Lord will build up Zion; And demonstrate His glory. [Psalm 102:16] God promises to build you up. And it is in a relationship with Him as your Father, through Lord Jesus Christ, His Son, and your personal Savior. And through it all, He demonstrates His wondrous attribute of comfort that can come only from Him. For, it is He who is the God of all comfort, that involves the full spectrum of your life, your past, present, and future.
Only He can truly understand your pain within, concerning your past. And He Himself promises to comfort you, so that your conscience may be cleansed and you may serve Him freely with no needless clutter of guilt and shame weighing you down. [Hebrews 8:12] He is the Father of mercies, who because of the Cross, remembers your sins no more. And He brings a godly perspective in you concerning your past that you may deal with it, and find victory through Christ. In forgiving others concerning hurts inflicted in your past, it may be a painful process, but He walks with you, to bring you out of it in victory. You must leave your past to the grace and mercy of God the Father, whose mercies are new every morning. It is what the apostle Paul did, to say – Forgetting what lies behind, I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ laid hold of me. [Philippians 3:13] And you can then experience the comfort of God, concerning your future, to walk towards His purpose and destiny for you, that He has prepared for you.
Even as Paul has declared, God’s comfort concerning your future, is in the form of His encouragement, which gives you the power to pursue the greater things that lie ahead of you, according to His will and purpose. It can involve a transformation in you, that leads to His Name being glorified for His great work accomplished in you. Paul was a persecutor of the church, but became a preacher of the very good news that he was opposing, as he experienced by the grace and mercy of God, His immeasurable comfort, to leave his past behind, and with overwhelming thankfulness focus on the message of the Cross from then on. And the people glorified God for the change that had taken place in him, and rightly so. Joseph, in the Old Testament, was comforted by God concerning his past, to be able to say to the same people, his own brothers who had done evil to him, that God meant it for good, the saving of many lives. By the gracious comfort of God that was birthed in him, Joseph was able to testify that the goodness of God had outdone the evil of man in his life. And thus it is in the life of every child of God, the blessed and powerful comfort from the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort.
Encouragement – giving you the power to pursue:
Encouragement that is the comfort of God gives you the power to pursue, and for it to be accomplished, He Himself becomes your Comforter. It is the role that the blessed Holy Spirit plays in your life, to be your Helper forever when Christ is your Savior. For, the world may advocate a change of scenery; but it would be the same selfie still, just in a different background. The Lord promises something immeasurably higher, when He bids you not to let your heart be troubled, to say – And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper [Comforter, Advocate, Counselor, Intercessor, Strengthener] to be with you forever. [John 14:6] His promises always come to you with His empowering, if you only believe and receive it in faith.
Helper – with you, always and forever:
You are never helpless or hopeless when you are in a right relationship with God as your Father. You have an ever-present Helper; and it is with a heart that is humble that you can turn to Him first, for His help in trouble and need, praying for His mercy, acknowledging in all humility your need for help, instead of trying to justifying yourself, or leaning on your own strength. The unchanging truth is that you are never alone. He is your Helper forever. The words of Richard Wumbrand, kept in solitary confinement in an underground cell because of his faithful loyalty unto Christ, stunned those who ultimately released him, thinking that he would be broken and out of his mind. He on the other hand was clear, much clearer in his thinking, and his explanation was simple – ‘God was with me’ Yes, even in your life, you are never alone. In your quiet time, you are alone, you and God. God is with you, and He will never leave you. You have an ever-present Helper, and He brings comfort in you, by giving you inspiration, courage and strength to move forward.The life of Elijah bears testimony to it; and the manner in which he experienced the God of all comfort, breathes hope and comfort in your heart and mine this day, for the word of God makes it honestly clear that Elijah was a man with like passions, very much like you and I.
He is the God of ALL comfort:
He knows your situation, and more importantly He knows you like the back of His Hand to give you comfort that is timely and appropriate. Elijah at a point of time as he sat under the broom tree in despair wanting to die, needed comfort at three levels, for he was physically exhausted, emotionally discouraged, and spiritually disillusioned. [1 Kings chapter 18] But he also had the God of all comfort, who began with the simple and the practical need of the hour- good food and good rest! Not all problems are spiritual, in your life and mine. Sometimes it can be as it was with Elijah – sheer physical exhaustion. An angel appeared to give him bread and water that he may eat and sleep, followed by the Angel of the Lord who again did the same. When you need to rest physically the God of all comfort comforts you simply and practically. He blesses your food ad water to remove all sickness and tiredness in you, so that you may arise and move forward replenished and strengthened. God understands the frailty of your human frame and gives you rest when you need it, before preparing you to receive instruction from Him, to be inspired in your spirit and encouraged in your soul. He wants to help you.
It also has to be said though, that some problems that appear seemingly physical may have a spiritual dimension to it. And that is when you need to resist the devil, in the power of the Holy Spirit, who is your ever-abiding Helper, for the evil one seeks only to keep you from having intimacy with God and serving Him. The Lord Himself touched and healed Peter’s mother-in-law, who was in bed suffering from fever. And she got up immediately and served Him. It was His miraculous touch of comfort that healed and energized her. And the Lord has given you the Holy Spirit to be your Comforter, to be with you, forever. Depending upon His strength, you can overcome the wiles of the enemy that tempt you to offer empty excuses in the path of seeking and serving the Lord, and be led to excellence. Father, we thank Thee, for there is no one like you to help us, comforting us with your consolation and encouragement at every point of our lives. And even in the midst of obstacles, may we be challenged to move forward in your power and your strength, for you are the God of all comfort. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
