We often pray for God to comfort the hurting, but have you ever wondered how He does it?
Much like Timothy’s “sincere faith” could be credited to his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, my faith was largely shaped by my grandmother Linda and my mother Elizabeth (cf. 2 Tim. 1:5). So, I was devastated when my beloved “Mamaw” died two weeks after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Just finishing my first year as a graduate student over three hours away, imagine my surprise when an elder, deacon, and campus minister from my current congregation walked into her visitation! They had never met her and had only known me for a few months. Yet, they comforted me.
Paul described God as “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3). “Comfort” is translated from the Greek parakaleo, meaning “to call near” or “to come alongside.” (We also translate it as “encourage”, depending on the context.) This is who God is. It is why Matthew began his gospel account calling Jesus “Immanuel” – meaning, “God with us” – and ended it with Jesus’ promise, “I am with you always” (Matt. 1:23, 28:20). It is why Jesus touched lepers, stayed with tax collectors, and publicly wept (Lk 5:13, 19:5; Jn. 11:35). God came alongside us through Jesus – and He did not stop there.
Jesus taught His disciples before His death, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Parakleton, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth…You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (Jn. 14:15-17). We struggle with translating Paraklete, the title Jesus gave the Spirit. It could mean “Advocate”, “Counselor”, “Helper”, or…“Comforter”. God comes alongside us, and the results are huge: “And the church…had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied” (Acts 9:31).
Whenever we pray for God to comfort someone, we are praying for Him to come alongside them. Recognize also that when we are led by the Spirit, we are often how He does that. It is hard to know exactly what to say or do when someone is hurting; but God “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” (2 Cor. 1:4). When we follow Jesus, He leads us alongside the hurting – and it brings comfort.
Train to be like Jesus every day through our “Your Kingdom Come” series of sermons, Bible studies, and articles.