God of All Comfort

"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." {2 Corinthians 1:3-4}

I have a heavy heart this morning for some friends of ours who lost a son to leukemia. It's hard for me to imagine what they must be feeling today. This has been a long journey filled with great difficulty. Although it is difficult to understand, I know that God is the Father of all comfort.

The comfort that God gives doesn't make sense to the world. How can we be comforted by a God that we cannot see? They do not understand the peace of God because it passes all understanding. And the comfort that He gives, He wants us to share with others. He allows us to be comforted so that we may be a comfort to those around us.

I'm reminded of the story of a little boy that was sent to the store by his mother. She had given him a specific list of things to purchase and was told to hurry on his way. After a couple of hours the mother began to worry because her son had not returned home. Finally, the door opened and the son came into the house. The mother asked her son what had taken him so long. He replied, "Mom, I did what you asked me to do. I went to the store and got the things on the list. As I was leaving the store, I noticed a little girl crying on the sidewalk. I went over to ask her what was wrong and she showed me a doll that was broken. I couldn't fix the doll, and I didn't have enough money to get her a new one. So I just sat down and cried with her for a little while."

There are times when the only comfort that we can give is to cry with someone for a little while. God's word teaches us to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. People that are going through difficulty don't always need your words...they just need you. I'm praying that this family will experience the comfort of God through His people. His people may not have answers to their situation but they have the comfort of God that can be shared.

Today I am trusting in the God of all comfort!