Oct 1

God of All Comfort

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforted us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." 2 Corinthians 1:3,4

Our lives are full of brokenness, broken promises, broken expectations, broken relationships. When we have faced these things in our lives and have felt the loving hand of our Father reaching down to draw us to himself, we will know without a shadow of a doubt that our Father is the God of all comfort. He is the very source from which comfort comes. Even our Lord endured suffering in the garden of Gethsemane, but it was the God of all comfort that send ministering angels to comfort His Son. How our hearts warm when we experience the comfort of God, but we can only experience that comfort when we cry out to Him. We can be comforted when trials come into our lives if we run into the loving arms of our Father. When we have gone through the breaking experiences that have been placed in our lives, when we have suffered a loss of one who is dear to us, when we are sick and in pain and have found God in those experiences reaching out to us in love, we are comforted in a special way. When we have experienced the loving compassion of our Father we will find that He has specially equipped us for the future. God has a ministry for us when we go through trials and have found Him there. When we have been broken and have tasted of the loving care of our Father we can then reach out to others who are going through similar trials and can comfort them and have the blessed privilege of leading them to the Father's arms of comfort. There is no greater purpose than this, to have suffered and been comforted that we might comfort others. Our mission is clear.

 Father thank you for your comfort and love toward me. Use me Lord to draw others to you. May all the experiences of my life be used to your glory and honor. Make me an instrument of your comfort that others may know you as I do, not just as the God of all comfort, but also as their loving and adoring Father. Amen