In Need of Comfort?
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.”
2 Corinthians 1:3
When I think about the word “comfort” I think about being held. I remember the times I was held by my parents when I was a child. I hold my children as a way to comfort or console them. When we are scared, sick, or sad we want to be comforted. We spend hours in the kitchen making comfort food to take to a friend after having surgery. There is something about the act of someone doing something for you that brings those warm, fuzzy feelings. The definition of comfort is to soothe, console, reassure, bring cheer to, or to make physically comfortable. There are so many ways to feel comfort but most of the ways we think about are a physical actions. When I think about the attributes of God, comforter is always one that comes to mind. If we can’t physically crawl into God’s lap for Him to comfort us in our time of need, how does He bring us comfort?
“Praise be to 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 sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-7
These verses tell us that God is our comforter in times of suffering. Suffering is when we feel pain or distress of any kind. It is an experience or a feeling. So, think about the many ways you have suffered. We have all felt suffering through fear, pain, loss, injury, brokenness, anxiety, loneliness, abuse, and I'm sure you can think of more that I am not naming. But Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians that we suffer just the same as Christ suffered. If we share in Christ’s suffering, we also share in His comfort.
The Greek word for comfort used in 2 Corinthians is paraklesis, and its corresponding verb form is parakaleo . It typically refers to encouragement or consolation given to someone who is suffering or in mourning. Let’s look at one more Greek form of the word comfort. The word parakaletos is used when a certain person is assigned as the comforter. In the book of John, the word parakaletos occurs four times in the context of Jesus’ farewell conversations with His disciples. As you read these verses pick out the word that best describes “The Comforter.”
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” John 14:16
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all the things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about me.” John 15:26
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7
Jesus promised the disciples that He will send another parakaletos to be in them and with them forever. Jesus already served as a parakaletos while He was here on earth, now we are given another parakaletos that will mediate the presence of Christ. The Holy Spirit was sent to dwell with us, to bring us comfort, and to be our Helper in our times of need. The Holy Spirit reminds us of the truths we know about Jesus, brings the presence of Christ to us since His resurrection, and provides comfort and consolation in Jesus’ absence.
Until I read these verses I never thought of the Holy Spirit as my Helper. Doesn’t the thought of having a Helper bring you reassurance? Especially since the Helper we have is the Almighty, all powerful, and all knowing God. When we specifically ask God to comfort us, we can feel an amazing physical feeling of comfort. It is fascinating how God can bring certain feelings to us without doing a particular physical act. As humans we have to do a physical action to show someone comfort, but through God’s power the Holy Spirit can bless us with this feeling and bring us encouragement any time we ask for it. There have been times in my life when I knew there was nothing that a person could do to comfort me. I prayed for God to bring me comfort and I felt an overwhelming feeling of being hugged, warm, cozy, and at peace. There was nothing physically done, but in my mind and in my heart I felt God comforting me. He has a way of fulfilling our needs that is beyond our understanding.
In closing, Paul ends the verses in 2 Corinthians by saying because God comforts us through the Holy Spirit, we in turn are able to comfort others. We always have opportunities to be living examples of Christ. By showing comfort to others is just one more way of doing that. As you go through your week, try to find ways to comfort and encourage others. It may be a family member, a friend, or the person in front of you in the check-out line. Whoever it is, allow God to comfort them through you.
Digging Deeper:
Read Psalm 23:4, Psalm 119:52, Isaiah 51:12-16
How have you seen God’s comfort in your life?
How do you need God’s comfort today?
Who needs your comfort this week? Write down ways you can comfort them.