08/17/2026
Are you in need of a comforter today? Is your heart broken, are you filled with sorrow, or perhaps a fear that deflates your sails? Whatever brings you to that place where you need an arm on your shoulder, and a comforting embrace from God... know that He is there, and will ease your burden, and that He will lift you once again to your feet.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16-17 ESV
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.
“So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”
John 16:22-23 ESV
In the beatitudes Jesus spoke encouragement to us for such times of 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 in mourning we see that He can comfort us all the more. He knows the deep sigh of death, and we watched Him as He wept for Lazarus before He raised him once again to new life... so through His own sacrifice a new life will come to us, even today, through His resurrection and blessed grace trust that we will be comforted and made new.
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4 KJV
And…
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:23-34 ESV
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 the hope of a 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 shiny resurrected vessels suited for an 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 you most, and I realize that times such as these are natural to us, just as they were to your Son Jesus as He walked this way through the world with you. 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 who assures me of your promises, and the life beyond this in which we will rejoice together forevermore. Lift me up Holy Father, and set me back on your joyous way when all I want is to lay helplessly without hope alongside this road and weep. 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.
Abba, you are merciful and kind in my downtrodden moments, and give me the promise of being at peace once again on the day that I will be reunited with my loved ones who have gone on before me. You lift me up, and restore my joy as you wash over me like a great wave of comfort in my times of sorrow and distress. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God of eternal love, peace, and grace. You are the source of all my joy, and the wellhead of my eternal hope. Praised be your name always.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””
Revelation 21:4-5 ESV
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes