COMFORT ONE ANOTHER!Speaker: Dr. D.G.S. Dhinakaran Gist: God is able to comfort you however deep your sorrow or grief maybe. Beloved! God is able to comfort you however deep your sorrow or grief maybe. You might have lost your loved one and are languishing in sorrow. You may say, “Who can comfort me?". Remember, there is perfect comfort and happiness in the presence of the Lord. But, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
As the Bible says, “Comfort one another” (I Thessalonians 4:18), you will draw comfort, when you comfort another person who is passing through the same path of sorrow like you.
Job was an upright and blameless man; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East (Job 1:1-3). All of a sudden, he lost all his ten children, his cattle, and his wealth in just one day. He was physically struck with painful sores from head to foot. He was sitting among the ashes. Even at that time he did not curse God but was praying for his friends. God saw the heart of Job. He blessed him twice as before (Job 42:10).
My dear beloved! We may pass through the path of sorrow and pain and yet when we preach the love of Christ to others who are in the same state, God will deliver us from the valley of tears.
Sometime back some of my friends asked me to minister to a servant of God who came to visit me. He shared his sorrow with me which was heartbreaking. Just a few days back, his younger daughter had led the congregation in fasting and prayer meeting. That night they went to bed rejoicing in the presence of God. The next day morning while making coffee, the stove burst and she was charred to death! Their darling daughter was charred alive before their very own eyes. This shattered their hearts. They were languishing without comfort. I shared with them how I lost my beloved daughter in a terrible car accident.The Bible says, “bear one another’s burdens and fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:12). I told them it is God who is comforting me and my family all these years.
"I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church" (Colossians 1:24).
The sufferings that a servant of God goes through are for the growth of the church and its perfection. When I explained this truth to them, it gave them great comfort and I was also comforted in seeing them comforted. The Lord shall comfort you too and bless you.
Prayer:
Loving Father,
God of all comfort! We come seeking You in Your presence. Father, heal us our wounds, comfort and anoint us with oil of gladness. Fill me with anointing to comfort those who are in sorrow and pain. Let my words bring comfort and peace. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.
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