What is comfort? A big screen TV, a plush Barcalounger, your favorite movie and a large bowl of popcorn? The macaroni and cheese your mom used to make, or a gooey chocolate cake? My personal favorite, 400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets on a Select Comfort bed with a dual control electric blanket?
Definitions of “comfort” on the Web:
1. a state of being relaxed and feeling no pain
2. a feeling of freedom from worry or disappointment
3. ease: a freedom from financial difficulty that promotes a comfortable state
4. give moral or emotional strength to
5. lessen pain or discomfort; alleviate
6. consolation: the act of consoling; giving relief in affliction
Of the top six definitions, three have to do with physical comfort that we rest in, and three have to do with receiving, or delivering comfort, including emotional and physical comfort.
As Christians, we should view comfort not as a circumstance or a condition, but as a gift, or an act. In 2 Corinthians, it says “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, He comforting us in all our trouble, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in every trouble, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds by Christ. And if we are troubled, it is for your consolation and salvation, being worked out in the endurance of the same sufferings which we also suffer; if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is certain, knowing that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also of the consolation.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)
What did Paul know about comfort? Well, of the first three definitions provided above, not too much, that is, not much after the road to Damascus. He knew quite a bit before then, he was a man of stature in the community and I’m sure lived a comfortable life, even if he wasn’t a slave to it. But of definitions four through six, Paul was a bona fide expert.
Comfort, in the passage above, is defined this way:
G3870
παρακαλέω
parakaleō
par-ak-al-eh’-o
From G3844 and G2564; to call near, that is, invite, invoke (by imploration, hortation or consolation): – beseech, call for, (be of good) comfort, desire, (give) exhort (-ation), intreat, pray.
G3874
παράκλησις
paraklēsis
par-ak’-lay-sis
From G3870; imploration, hortation, solace: – comfort, consolation, exhortation, intreaty.
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.Matthew 5:4
Our troubles are an invitation to draw near to God. His comfort calls us near; troubles help us hear the call and give us the motivation to answer it. We can always pray for thorns to be removed, as Paul did, but we MUST rejoice when He chooses for the thorns to stay, because it is for our benefit – to draw us closer to him. We must allow the thorns to have the intended effect – to draw us nearer to God, which ultimately glorifies Him and shows His power.
Brent Detwiler of Sovereign Grace Ministries delivered the sermon yesterday, and one of the many things he said that really stuck with me is that pain is a magnet for God’s love.
“For this reason, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in troubles, in persecutions, in distresses on behalf of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) In our weakness and affliction, we become stronger in our faith, because we see once again that we are pressed but not crushed, persecuted but not abandoned, struck down yet not destroyed. We are better equipped to minister to other people after these times of great suffering that we endured and came out not just okay but praising His name. Our chief purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. The sufferings of Christians who are comforted by God, glorify Him.
As Brent said, when trouble came, Paul said, “I delight” not “I renounce” or “I bind” or “I rebuke.” I can only pray that I will do the same, and continue to look for the day when “God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying out, nor will there be any more pain; for the first things passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)
