Comfort in the Father’s Arms
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-7, ESV)
My daughter got four vaccines at her last doctor's visit. If you’ve ever had a baby, you’ll know that even one vaccine can make a baby fussy, clingy, uncomfortable, and unhappy. Now multiply that by four.
After getting pricked at her appointment, she fell asleep long enough for us to pick up infant Tylenol and make it home, then the crying commenced. We did everything: nursed her until she refused any more, hopped in the shower for skin-to-skin and let the water run over her, bounced her, walked around with her, turned on music, the whole nine.
Finally, the thing that helped her relax and sleep again was laying on her daddy’s chest for a good snuggle. And now, as I watch her relaxed and comforted, her little hands wrapped around Sam as far as they’ll make it, I am reminded of how that’s exactly the way God sees me: small, innocent, and in need of a Father God to be saved and comforted.
Indeed, our God is the God of mercy and comfort. When we find ourselves in deep turmoil– when our troubles seem to pile one on top of the other– and life seems to feel inconsolable, our God is the One we can turn to for comfort. Even in our affliction, we can feel solace that not only will God walk through it with us, but we can stand firm in the fact that our God has already walked through affliction and can sympathize with us in our sorrow and grief. To me, that comfort is infinitely deeper: to know that the God I am saved by and walk with knows firsthand about the things that trouble me because he too was tempted, grieved, and troubled in similar ways.
It’s bound to happen. Life is going to have its fair share of suffering. That is a guarantee. But just like today’s verse says, just the same way we share in Christ’s sufferings, we also share abundantly in His comfort. That comfort, of course, begins in the salvation we have through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
No matter what we face– loss, betrayal, hurt, heartbreak, whatever it is– our first comfort can be that we are saved if we truly stand under the cleansing blood of Jesus and have received His grace. Go ahead, roll your eyes if you need to. It’s not a throw away, Christianese ideal. Because if all else fails, even if our suffering never ends in this life, if we have Christ’s salvation, we can be assured that our suffering will end once we finish with this life and move into the next.
And if you experience troubles, it is so your faith can be tested, strengthened, and so your soul can be comforted by the Father.
Not only that, but we experience affliction so that we can experience God’s comfort and be able to share that comfort that we’ve experienced with someone who is in need of it. Why would someone trust an antidote you’ve never tried yourself? In the same way, why would a troubled person trust you that Jesus can be their comfort if you’ve never known the deep comforts of knowing Christ?
So you see, just like my daughter's vaccines serve a purpose– to build up an immunity in her body so that she can stand against threats of disease– the struggles of this life also serve a purpose. That purpose being to build our faith against the threats of the devil and so we can experience the amazing comforts that God has for us. Because it’s 100% true that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), and He only wants us to stand firm in the safety He’s given us.
I hope my words can extend some sort of comfort to you in the way that Sam was able to comfort Piper tonight. I hope that if you are in need of comfort, you can find some sort of way to run to the Lord’s arms today and be consoled.
Your struggles have a purpose today, friend. If it’s not for you to be strengthened in your faith, or to experience the comforts of the Lord, then perhaps it's so you can point someone else towards the comfort our Savior can give.
