Whenever we go through unpleasant situations, someone to comfort us and empathize with what we have experienced is just what we need. No one who goes through an unpleasant experience desires to have a nagging fellow blaming them for their own painful experiences. Even if one is directly or indirectly the cause of their own suffering, the best one can offer is a shoulder to lean on and words of comfort. Comfort is a state of freedom from pain or to alleviate one's feeling of grief or distress. From physical discomforts to emotional discomfort, the cause of discomfort can range from what is seen to what is unseen.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. (Isaiah 40:1)
In the Old Testament, the Israelites faced a series of discomforts from different ways. As God's chosen people, whenever they faulted and served foreign gods, they were left by God to the surrounding nations. In this state, they experienced pain and suffering associated with their rejection of God. Then when they cried to the Lord, He would send them a helper to save them from their discomforts. In one of Isaiah's prophecies to the people of Israel, he beheld a season of comfort for Jerusalem. Isaiah 40:1-2 admonishes that, “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”
This prophecy was not just for the momentarily but also for the future. Isaiah foresaw a period where Jerusalem (or God's chosen people) will experience the comfort of God. A period where the sins of the nations that led them to the period of discomfort will be paid for. A time of peace and tranquility where the real comfort of God will overshadow the pains and the suffering of the present. As Isaiah spoke these words, the people looked forward to such a time where all their enemies would be crushed under their feet and they would rejoice over the destruction of their enemies. As the people eagerly waited for this period, God's plan to comfort His people was perfected through the birth of a Son.
Jesus' birth was to culminate God's promise made to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The pain of death and the overbearing pressure of sin was ultimately taken away through His death and resurrection. God, through Jesus, comforted humanity and brought us hope for the future. In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Paul writes that, “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.”
This Christmas, be intentional to be an agent of comfort. Many people are going through difficult times and they need the comfort of God to survive this holiday. Be generous enough to share with others the comfort of the Lord. Indeed, He is our Comfort and the world needs to know this. David knew this and in Psalms 23:4, he wrote this: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Don't be dismayed, He is your Comfort!
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