God comforts believers expecting that they, in turn, will extend that heaven-sent comfort toward others during their times of need. Believers are admonished to “comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, and be patient toward all men” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). Stronger believers are encouraged to bear the infirmities of those who are weak (Romans 15:1). When one believer weeps as a result of the trials and troubles of this life, the body of Christ should weep with that brother or sister (Romans 12:15). Every member of the body of Christ should be available to the strengthening and support of other members of the body, for in doing so, believers fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
Far too many people wrongly assume that the Bible lacks relevance in addressing modern problems. However, the Bible declares that things written aforetime were written for comfort in present troubles. Though the Bible does not deal specifically with every modern trouble, the work of God in past believers’ lives offers the comfort necessary to face any trouble. This is one of many reasons why it is imperative that believers read the entire Bible and not limit it to the New Testament or certain epistles within it. God’s workings in the lives of Job, Abraham, and Jeremiah can offer just as much comfort as God’s workings in the lives of Paul or John. No matter the trouble faced, an open Bible with a receptive heart serves as man’s greatest opportunity for experiencing the ever allusive comfort.
The Bible never directly addresses the Lord Jesus as “the Comforter,” yet the Lord alluded to this title. The Lord told His followers that the coming of the Holy Ghost would be God’s means of sending them “another Comforter” (John 14:16). Evidently, the Lord Jesus served as the Comforter and the Holy Ghost would function as another Comforter. During His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus worked in the lives of those who followed Him. He was their Comforter. When He went to the Father, the Father sent “another Comforter” and He is the Holy Ghost. Each person who is born again by the grace of God has the Holy Ghost dwelling within (Romans 8:9). When troubles come, and they will, the believer has within himself a person of the Godhead that specializes in comforting those afflicted.
The Bible clearly states that all comfort comes either directly or indirectly from the Lord. The Bible says that He is “the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). Any true and lasting comfort man receives originates with and through the Lord (James 1:17), and the comfort given by God can comfort each of us in any and all tribulation (2 Corinthians 1:4). Unfortunately, man seems to think that every problem he faces requires a different area of study with various solutions. Yet, the Bible contradicts this line of thinking by stating that every tribulation has only one source of comfort. It is important to note that the comfort received by one person can be passed on to help others regardless of the trouble faced. That is the power of God’s comfort!
The world places a premium on the concept of living comfortably. For instance, people desire comfortable clothes, comfortable beds, comfortable cars, comfortable furniture, etc. The list is unending. There are even foods designated as “comfort foods.” Yet, with this great emphasis upon comfort, the world seems to experience so little of true comfort. So, what exactly is comfort? Why is speaking of comfort so trendy and yet so hard to achieve? The word comfort is easily defined by breaking it down into two parts: com and fort. The prefix com means “with” and the word fort means “strength.” Simply put, comfort involves a strength that a person can carry with him. Immediately, every Christian should recognize that very little true comfort exists in this world. True comfort stems from the Lord and not that offered outside of Him.
Jacob made an agreement with Laban to serve him in exchange for Rachel’s hand in marriage. His tenure of service was filled with great difficulties. Not only was the service itself hard work, but his service was marked with change and troubles. No doubt Jacob could have bemoaned these difficulties, but instead the Bible says that the seven years of service “seemed unto him but a few days.” How could Jacob give such testimony when we know that those were seven arduous years of labour? The Bible explains that he made it through those difficult days “for the love he had to her.” Our love for the Saviour ought to parallel and even exceed Jacob’s love for Rachel. Similar to Jacob’s determination to serve, we too have a purpose. At times, our service for the Lord may seem filled with great difficulties, but a deep and genuine love for the Saviour will make one’s service seem “but a few days.”
In a day when the world uses the word love rather flippantly, the people of God need to revisit the concept of biblical love. The Bible says, “A friend loveth at all times.” This infers that the concept of falling in and out of love is unscriptural. Biblically defined love is not a fleeting emotion controlled by one’s feelings. It remains a choice based on the truths of scripture and falls outside the whims of one's emotional passions. The world declares its love for something and in the same breath declares its love lost for the latest passing fad. Just as God’s love for us remains permanent, so ought our love for others. Unfortunately, this fickleness has crept into the lives of the believers. We could learn much by considering the example of the Lord’s love for His enemies even after they had so cruelly nailed Him to the tree (Luke 23:34). Biblical love forgives and continues to unconditionally forgive regardless of any objectionable response to one’s love (Proverbs 10:12).
When you truly love someone, you find yourself developing a love for the things that he or she loves. It should be no different concerning our relationship with the Lord. The more love we have for the Lord, the more love we display for the things dearest to Him. This means that the closer we draw to Him, the more we will love things that He loves, like judgment (Isaiah 61:8) and righteousness (Psalm 11:7), the lost (John 3:16) and the saved (1 John 4:21), peace and truth (Zechariah 8:19). We will also have a greater love for the Jewish people (Zechariah 2:8). Perhaps a more accurate gauge by which to judge your love for the Lord is to gauge your love for the things which He loves.
It is easier to love those with whom we feel a common bond and share a special relationship. In fact, the Lord suggests as much in the scripture. When the Lord encouraged His people to love strangers, He did so by reminding them that they too had been strangers in the land of Egypt. By recalling their past associations, the Israelites would know how to better deal with those who were strangers to them. It would be good for them to recall some of the trials they faced when they were strangers in a strange land. With this in mind, they would know how to care for and minister to the strangers. Though Christians are not under the law and most are not Israelites, much can be learned from these truths. It becomes easier to love those to whom we can closely relate.
A careful survey of the Bible concerning the object of our scriptural love demonstrates that each object has a connection to the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, these loves stem from a love for the Lord. For instance, we love the brethren because the Lord loves them and we love Him (1 John 3:17). We love righteousness because it is what God loves (Psalm 11:7). We love the words of the Bible because they are God’s words and therefore, they are pure (Psalm 119:140). There would be nothing worth loving and no reason to love if it were not for the Lord’s love. People might provide various reasons when asked why they love the Lord, but in reality there is only one reason why we love Him or anything else for that matter. “We love him, because he first loved us.” The fact of the matter is that we love and should love because God loved us and loves us.
