"God of Comfort"

"God of Comfort"

by Thomas Eller

            

          Being it's my first blog, I want to welcome you! I am a Jesus follower and hope you are too, but if not, I hope my words will inspire you, or at least get you to think. I will be sharing a bit of where I come from in this first edition. And I also want to dig into the book of 2 Corinthians. For this blog, we will be starting with chapter one verse three. 

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." (2 Corinthians 1: 3-7 NIV)

          It was three years ago, I was 21, living with my ex and her family, and doing things I shouldn't had been doing. Our relationship was filled with distrust, and chaos. Arguing seemed to be our biggest hobby as a couple. Yelling at each other was how we chose to communicate to one another. Now I admit, my actions were the cause of this chaos. I was filled with greed and selfish desire. I had addictions that conquered my soul. I basically was living the opposite way of how God wanted me to live. 

          I stopped going to church, and I started partying instead. I fell into habits that took forever to get out of. My relationship with my own family was distant. I lived only ten minutes away, but saw them about the same amount of time I would see an ex classmate from high school. I wasn't the best son. The relationship with the girl I was with got so messed up that I began to abuse her. I ended up hurting her in ways I thought I never could. 

          I mean, I was raised in a Christian home, with parents who both loved me, and taught me the value of respecting people. I just completely lost myself in sin. I fell into a pit that I thought I could never get out of. Then, I hit rock-bottom. My ex kicked me out of the house, and I was quickly aware of everything I had been doing, and fell into a deep shame. I refused to move back in with my parents, so I chose to move into my car. 

          Now, I only lived in my car for about three weeks, but let me tell you, three weeks compacted in a little car seems like three months. I was lonely and helpless. It was literally hell. I remember one night staring out the sunroof of my car at the stars, praying to God. I wept the whole night, and begged for forgiveness. I swore to God that very night, that I would no longer party, have sex, and hurt people, and that I would get back into church and do the right thing. 

          What God showed me that night was something I will never forget. He showed me comfort. I was weeping in the car, praying, and then all of this sudden, I felt a warm breeze around me. Now, the temperature that night was low. It was a chilly night. The month I believe was April. The winter season had just passed, but that particular night, it was chilly. However, in this moment of shame, guilt,and sorrow, I believe God showed comfort. 

          I want to tell you readers that God is a God of comfort. He cares for you. You are His child. He created you to live a long and prosperous life. Paul testified to this in his writing. Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." 

          Going to the next part of the passage in 2 Corinthians, we see that Christ endured all of the suffering for us. He also suffers with us. Every pain we go through, Jesus hurts with us. Every sin we commit, Jesus paid the price for already. I'm in awe because our God, who is governor of the universe, creator of mankind, suffers with us! But does God suffer? This is a question many philosophers wrapped their minds around. Many theologians have studied this topic. The short answer is yes, God does suffer. 

          We see numerous times in the Old testament, that God shows human emotion: anger, grief, jealousy, sorrow, pity, and love. Jewish scholar, Abraham Heschel, wrote in his book, "The Prophets," "The most exalted idea applied to God is not infinite wisdom, infinite power, but infinite concern. Before the flood God was 'grieved' that he had made human beings and his heart was filled with pain, when Israel was oppressed by foreigners during the time of the judges, God could bear Israel's misery no longer." God suffered with Israel. He felt for his people. If you don't believe God doesn't suffer, or love, check out Hosea 11. 

          Lastly, I would like to end with a passage from Dr. Myron J. Taylor's (Minister Emeritus Westwood Hills Christian Church) paper, "THE GOD WHO SUFFERS WITH US," 

          "What does all this mean? What does it say to us today? Our God is not the God of the philosophers, "The Unmoved Mover" (Aristotle), "Eternal Energy" (Huxley), "The Unknown Absolute" (Arnold). Not the "First Principle", "Life Essence", "Divine Architect", "Life Force", "Supreme Intelligence", "Big Boss", "Man Upstairs". Our God is not the Big Bully who runs everything and has to have everything his way. God has power, sovereign power, almighty power, but God's power is always used consistent with his character, consistent with his purpose, and consistent with his patience. to say God is sovereign means God has the right to be himself. The question is not so much what God can do, as what God will do. God will not lie. God will not act in an unloving way, God will not do a foolish thing. God is a limited God. To the extent that he has made us free he must limit himself. If I am free, then my actions are not predetermined. If I am to be responsible, I must be free. God is still almighty; because his limitations are self-limitations. God chooses to limit himself. He makes himself vulnerable. Part of the greatness of God is his desire to stoop to our needs, to accommodate himself to us."

          Therefore, because God cares, because God loves us-- He suffers. "Rabbi Heschel says that divine pathos--divine caring--is at the heart of the prophetic message of the Old Testament. God comforts and God suffers. I can testify to this through that shame, and guilt, and sorrow I went through in my car that chilly, breezy night. God comforted me, and I assure you God suffered with me. 

          So if you have read this far, I ask you to ask yourself, "Do you see God comforting you in your life? Do you need the love of God to bring you comfort? Wherever you are at in your life, my prayer is that what I wrote helps you, and I pray that God will be there to comfort you. 

God Bless You!

Thomas.