He's the God of All Comfort

No one can comfort us like God can. In fact, the Bible says He is “the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). This means when we’re discouraged, disappointed, grieving, or dealing with a painful situation of any kind, we can run to His Word for strength, healing and support.

Yes, the Lord will often use others to comfort us. But even those people who are extremely close to us cannot give us everything we need all the time. On so many occasions—more times than I can count—I’ve run to God’s Word for help and comfort when things seemed to be falling apart around me.

I take time to read scriptures like the following, allowing them to sink in and encourage me right where I am:

...For He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support…[Assuredly not!] (Hebrews 13:5 AMPC).

"For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you," says the Lord, "plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with My victorious right hand (Isaiah 41:10 NLT).

I love Psalm 3:3 (ESV) which says, But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

When you’re down, discouraged, or going through something it seems no one else can understand, there’s One Person Who alwaysunderstands...and He desires to “lift” you up and breathe hope and new life into your mind, will, emotions and spirit.

Turn Your Mess into a Miracle

In Matthew 5:4 (NIV), Jesus says, Blessed and enviably happy…are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!

I used to think this was odd. I wondered, How can we be blessed if we are mourning? Then God helped me understand that our times of pain are actually perfect opportunities to receive and experience His supernatural comfort.

In fact, having a problem is one of the best places to begin again. Why? Because God’s comfort goes far beyond any ordinary kind of comfort. He is the only One who can carry you through the pain and help you to actually become a better, more powerful person than you were before.

With God’s help, we can look at our pain as an opportunity. I believe we can have an attitude that says, “This may be tough right now, but I will never give up. I’m really hurting, but I’m going to bounce back!”

Yes, there is an appropriate time to grieve after a loss or tragedy, but we just don’t want to get stuck there. Just look at the life of Joseph. The Bible tells us his story in the book of Genesis…

As a young man, Joseph had great dreams for his life. But his older brothers resented him and sold him into slavery and he was taken to Egypt. However, Joseph refused to give up. He found great favor with his master, Potiphar, and was eventually put in charge of his entire household.

Years later, Potiphar threw Joseph in jail for a crime he didn’t commit. But he still didn’t give up. In fact, the Lord eventually gave Joseph an opportunity to interpret a dream for Pharaoh, who then promoted him to the highest official in Egypt!

Joseph literally went from the pit to the palace. Then, years later, when a famine struck the land, the Lord used Joseph to save his family and the entire house of Israel.

God Can Work It Out for Your Good

Romans 8:28 (NLT) says, ...God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. When we refuse to give up, the greatest tragedy of our life can actually turn out to be one of the greatest blessings.

Some of my greatest victories have come out of difficult moments when I had to press through and seek God for His help and comfort. I’m grateful today that I didn’t give up during those times because I wouldn’t have the privilege of helping people the way I do.

Similarly, your problems may never completely disappear, but your attitude and response to those problems can make all the difference for you and so many others.

When you are hurting, I encourage you to run to God—the “Source of every comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3 AMPC). Spend time in His Word, talk to Him in prayer, and choose to worship Him even when you don’t feel like it.

Psalm 34:18 (NIV) says, The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart…. He sees every hurt, every trial and every disappointment. And if you let Him, He will take the bad thing that happened and work it out for your good.