Who Is the God of All Comfort?

　　There is something truly reassuring about knowing that we serve a comforting God. That He has such compassion for us and can offer us the hope we need when we encounter troubles in this life.

　　But, while His comfort compares to no other and provides a special sense of closeness, we must realize that the comfort we receive from God may not look or feel the way we “think it should.” That is because God’s comfort has a special and meaningful purpose.

　　Praise 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, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ(2 Corinthians 1:3-5).

　　The Apostle Paul is an interesting and rather intriguing figure we see woven throughout the New Testament. Being of Jewish descent (Acts 22:3) and known for his violent acts on the disciples of Jesus, one would think he was a lost cause. But that isn’t at all the way our God works.

　　God’s plan always prevails, and in Paul’s case, God transformed Paul from being a lost sheep to becoming a father-like shepherd.

　　It all began with a wild trip to Damascus, where Paul had a pretty miraculous encounter with Jesus. In that “come to Jesus” encounter, Paul underwent a complete transformation of his faith (Acts 9:3-6,8-9).

　　This eventually led him to spread the gospel and go down in history as the apostle that strived to live out the great commission.

　　However, his mission work came with many strings attached. In other words, it wasn’t short on afflicting pain and suffering.

　　From shipwrecks, to being publicly beaten and imprisoned, to being starved and thirsty to often ridiculed or alone, and on and on (2 Corinthians 11:25-30, Acts 16:16-40), Paul could have easily questioned God as to why all this suffering was raining down on him when he is doing “good things” in Jesus’ name.

　　He could have easily just given up. But rather, he continued on, boldly declaring that our suffering isn’t for nothing (Romans 8:18) and that we serve a God of all comfort!

　　Wow, such a striking statement from a man in such peril. So, what kind of comfort was Paul talking about, and what did He really receive from God? It surely wasn’t the kind of comfort that took all his troubles away.

　　Paul tells us that our God is the Father of Compassion and is with us in the midst of our suffering and pain. Furthermore, Paul tells us to praise God and bring comfort to others so that they, too, can receive comfort. There are a few things to unpack here. So, let’s see what Paul is saying to us in this verse.

　　

Praising the God of Comfort

In many instances, we see Paul pray and praise God through suffering. Knowing that Paul endured much in his life, he was definitely not immune to pain; he provides us a pretty incredible example of how to use our trials and tribulations in this life to glorify God.

　　Jesus tells us that in this life, we will fall upon hard times (Matthew 5:1012). Not only that but we will be blessed by them! That is because our trials have purpose, and God is behind all of them.

　　God may use our trials to grow us stronger in our faith (1 Peter 1:7), to produce character and endurance (Romans 5:3-5), to humble us (1 Corinthians 1:28-29), sanctify us (James 1:2-4), solely depend on Him (Job1:21), among many other reasons He may deem necessary.

　　Trials in this life are just a part of God’s handiwork being done within us. This is why we find many other beautiful examples of those that praised God in all circumstances purposefully placed throughout Scripture.

　　David, for one, praised God through many of his trials. We see (and can hear) the heartfelt poems, prayers, and praise stemming from his grief-stricken state in the Book of Psalms.

　　Job is another beautiful example of a man that had everything stripped from him yet turned his face toward God and praised Him (Job 27:3-4).

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Comfort Others

While God not only brings comfort with a purpose to refine us in some way or draw us closer to Him, He also uses our situations and sufferings to comfort others. So, comfort is a gift we receive from God and then share with others.

　　Think about the last time you walked through a difficult time. Maybe you are currently in one. Many times, we can feel alone or lost when we wade through murky waters.

　　While it’s easy to want to retreat or withdraw from others, we were created to do life together — for a reason. God created us for fellowship, knowing that we would need the physical kind of comfort from a dear friend.

　　In sharing our stories, relating to one another, and extending help (essentially being the hands and feet of Jesus), we are spreading God’s love and comfort. Now, how comforting is that?

　　

Suffer Like Christ, Receive His Comfort

There are a few different ways that we may share in Christ’s sufferings. One being that, as believers, we may be chastised, ridiculed, or persecuted for sharing our faith and being followers of Jesus.

　　Paul surely endured that suffering as he preached to many of the cities throughout Europe and Asia Minor. Then there is the fact that we live in a fallen and sinful world, and because of that, we will experience grave suffering as part of it.

　　In other words, we will tread through some deep waters, but we can rest assured and find comfort in knowing that God is with us! (Isaiah 43:2).

　　We can take a lesson from Paul about our God being the God of all comfort. While it may not be the kind of comfort we think of, it is always the comfort we need.

　　God knows us better than we know ourselves and, as our Creator, is continually using situations in our lives to grow us and shape us into the sons and daughters He is calling us to be.

　　This is why we are called to consider our trials and suffering as pure joy (James 1:2-4). Not to be mistaken with happiness, but to say that while we may carry a heavy heart or be hurting, we can acknowledge that our present suffering helps us understand the nature of our God.

　　It allows us to be placed in a posture of complete surrender, acknowledging that in our lowest moments, we are met by our comforting and compassionate God.

　　When we invite God into our pain, seeking His comfort, we will eventually be able to see His fingerprints on our lives and how He had a purpose for all of it.

　　Drawing near God also reminds us that He took on the ultimate suffering and knows the depth of our pain. That is where we find the blessing of comfort. It’s found in knowing that our God is good in all circumstances and can give us peace that surpasses all understanding.

　　

A Prayer for Comfort

Gracious God,

　　We are so thankful that You are the Father of compassion and comfort. As we walk through trials in this life, we invite you into the depths of our pain. May we learn to lean in and find comfort in You alone so that, in turn, we can share that comfort with others.

　　We praise You for Your unfailing love, as Your love is great, and Your mercy never fails. We are so thankful to have hope that while this life may bring us great suffering, that it is merely a moment in time.

　　Please help us have an eternal perspective and live with the passion for showing others who You are in the midst of our trials and tribulations.

　　Amen.

　　For further reading:

　　Does God Really Work All Things for Good?

　　Why Is God Called the ‘Lord of the Harvest’?

　　How Is God the God of All Grace?