Sunday, February 9, 2014

Sources Of Comfort

Believers look to God for comfort. It is just one of many great gifts that our Father God wants to bestow upon us. For those of us that our fathers, I think of when my kids have been sitting on the couch in the winter and getting a blanket for them to wrap up in. I think of when they want to snuggle up against their mother while watching a movie. We are God’s children and it is the most natural thing to seek comfort from him. Paul mentions something in his letter to the Philippians that I found interesting that was a comfort to him.

Philippians 2:1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Here we see Paul comparing the comfort of love to being of one mind and one accord with the other believers. He tells us to esteem them above ourselves. He tells us to not think on our own things but also on the things of others. And he sums this up by saying that this is exactly how Jesus operated, whom we are to imitate. So there is another form of comfort we can seek. That form of comfort is to strive towards the unity of the believers, and to look out for each other.

Think for a moment what that would be like. If in our lives every day we absolutely believed and knew that we could count on God to always be making a way for us. And think about how we would feel if we knew our fellow believers were looking out for our good, that we could turn to them in times of need, that we always had a group of people watching our backs. Perhaps this would be good for us to work toward. Perhaps we should all be striving to create that comfort for the entire group. Sounds like something Jesus would be doing today, right?

Prayer
Father, we exalt You as our King. We ask today father that You comfort Your people directly and through us. Help us to know when someone needs comforting. Help us to be more like Jesus (Yeshua) in all we do. Help us to find comfort in comforting others. Please send today the healing and deliverance and provision Your people need. In Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) name. Amen.