08/17/2018
Are you in need of a comforter today? Is your heart broken, are you filled with sorrow, or perhaps a fear that deflates you sails? Whatever brings you to that place where you need an arm on your shoulder, and a comforting embrace from God... know He is there, and will ease your burden, and lift you once again to your feet.
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
John 14:16-17 KJV
There are times in our lives when sorrow will overtake us, and we will ache for a season, but in such times we are never alone. We have been given the Holy Spirit who will comfort us and who reminds us of the grace we have received through Jesus Christ, and the joy, goodness, and mercy, that God brings to us. Even in the midst of our deepest despair; those times when we want to tear our clothing and throw ashes on our heads, God is with us. Our strength and resilience comes in knowing that His Son Jesus will come for us and those we love, and that he will deliver us pure and clean to the Father... washed joyfully in His blood.
“And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.”
John 16:22-23 KJV
In the beatitudes Jesus spoke encouragement to us for such times of our loss and grief because He knew them too. We feel the deflation of our own suffering because we bear it today, but there was also heartache in the life of our Lord and Savior, and by His pain and precedent mourning He can comfort us all the more. He knows the deep sigh of death, and wept for Lazarus before He raised him once again to new life... so through His own sacrifice a new life comes to us, even today, through His resurrection and blessed grace.
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4 KJV
In this day, we sigh the deep sorrows, and weep the tears of mourning, but all the while we know, and trust, that this season also contains joy unspeakable, and a promise of new and eternal life. The pain of this world gives way to the joys of heaven itself, and the disabilities of these bodies, some racked by age, and others crushed by disease, are healed and become shining resurrected vessels suited for everlasting life in eternity. Even as we mourn now, we have confidence that our tears will all be wiped away in the morrow, and in the by and by.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 KJV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for your arm around my shoulders that comforts me when I need it most, and I realize that times such as these are natural to us, just as they were to Jesus as He walked this way. Help me Merciful Father as I face mourning and heartache... help me as I confront my own mortality and suffer through my own dark times. Never let me feel alone, and fill me with your Holy Spirit which reminds me of your promises, and the life beyond this in which we will rejoice together forevermore. Lift me up Father, and set me back on the way when all I want is to do is lay by the road. Put heavenly food in my mouth when I have lost my taste for sustenance, and place your cup to my lips when my tongue has been left parched by sorrow... reinvigorate me Lord with holy meat, and refresh me with the wine of a new day.
You are merciful and kind in my downtrodden moments, and the promise of being once again with my loved ones, and lifted up by your joy is of comfort to me. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God of eternal peace and grace; the source of my joy, and of hope everlasting. Praised be your name always.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
Revelation 21:4-5 KJV
Rich Forbes