In our everyday lives, comfort is often found in earthly things. A good night’s rest, good health, foods we like, a cup of coffee, air conditioning in the summer, heat in the winter, running water, electricity, crops that do well, money to live on, a job, a car, entertainment in various forms, family and friends being nice to us and treating us kindly, and just having the things that most people desire: These all provide a kind of satisfaction that cause us to not think beyond the outward appearance of our existence here on earth. But if we are deprived of any of these things, we are no longer ‘comfortable’, placing us in the position of looking somewhere besides the things which are seen for a more reliable comfort. Thank you, Lord, for uncomfortable times in our lives when we have been ‘deprived’ - without these times, would any of us have ever seen our lovely Creator?

God has provided abundant comfort for us in Christ, a kind of comfort that is sometimes as hard to comprehend as it is to understand the One Who provides it for us in such a gracious manner. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 1:3). The everyday life of the average Ephesian was characterized by a devotion to an idol who could neither see nor hear, yet comfort was found in her magnificent temple and her outward splendor. But for the Ephesians who were weary and heavy-laden with sin, they found their comfort in the meek and lowly Christ, no longer in Diana of the Ephesians. We can be as wise as the Ephesian brethren if we will look past the idols of our day and see the Lamb of God Who laid down His life to provide us with true comfort of the everlasting kind! Just thinking about the rest that Jesus provides brings tears to the eyes - What a wonderful Savior we have in the One Who sits at the right hand of God!

Jesus left us with one of the greatest treasures ever: The eternal Words of our Father in Heaven. Speaking of the twelve apostles in John 17:8, Jesus says, "For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me." It was not the Will of the Father for Jesus to write any of these Words for us on papyrus scrolls, but that rather, they be entrusted to the holy apostles and prophets to become the New Testament Scriptures to be our sole guide for faith and practice as Christians until the Lord returns in glory. Combined with the Old Testament writings, we have the two faithful witnesses who not only provide all things that pertain to life and godliness, but supply unspeakable joy and comfort in the process! Thanks be to God for the Bible and the peace of mind it brings to us who put our faith in its eternal Truth!

Paul the apostle was one of the inspired writers who wrote these words for our comfort: "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Romans 15:4). There is comfort indeed to be found in God and His Word! It is interesting that Paul is saying in this passage that our happiness is not found in pleasing ourselves, which is where the carnal mind will, without fail, always look for happiness

Rather, we learn from the Scriptures that our true comfort is found in serving others, like Christ did while here in the material world. Life is not about ‘me’ (The spiritual galaxy is not ‘Tomcentric’; it revolves around the glorious Son, and that is the Truth.). Remember that God created many sons of Abraham who we can serve for their edification as well as the joy we receive in pleasing them just as Christ pleased us by giving Himself a ransom for our sins! There are also the many souls who are still alienated from God: What a comfort to be a part of their eternal comfort and salvation!

Losing material comforts can be quite uncomfortable, actually causing some to end lives because they had no eternal source of comfort to support them in their loss. Job lost more earthly goods than any of us ever will, yet endured that trial without sinning or charging God foolishly. His comfort was in the eternal promises of God and His presence in his life!

But Job also lost loved ones: ALL of his children at once! Losing a loved one today is even more difficult to deal with than the loss of material goods, for it deals with death, and the Bible calls death an ‘enemy’ that will finally be defeated by Jesus when He comes in the end (I Corinthians 15:26). To be ‘carnally minded is death’ (Romans 7:6a), for such thinking never leads us to real comfort. Death was what God warned Adam and Eve about if they partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It has been our sad lot ever since to deal not only with our own mortality, but with the severing of ties to those we love the most. Our Father and His Son, Jesus our High Priest is not insensitive to our plight, but provides comfort for our aching hearts in the Scriptures!

We remember the tragic stories of how David lost sons while he was a stranger and pilgrim here on earth. When he lost the little baby born of Bathsheba, he was very comforted by his faith in God, proclaiming, "Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:23b.). Later on in David’s life, in accordance with the prophecy of Nathan the prophet, David lost his son, Amnon, then afterward, Absalom. Both losses were occasions for many bitter tears; so many so with Absalom that David was in danger of despair that could have dispirited his loyal troops. The difference in David’s comfort and his sorrow was found in the condition of those he loved at the time of their parting. This is yet another reason to live for Christ: Our loved ones will have a reason to take comfort in our passing if they can see that our profession in Christ was genuine!

There is always comfort to be found in a new perspective on our trials, and the prophet Isaiah has provided one on the death of a loved one when he writes in Isaiah 57:1,2: "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness." Our merciful God understands that there are evils in this sinful world that can be nearly impossible to bear, even for a good man. Isn’t it better to be with Jesus for one hour in Heaven, than to live for a century here with everything the world can provide?

When your life is not comfortable, look to God and His Word, and you will find comfort in the Scriptures beyond all that you can ask or think. Our God is good, and so is His eternal Word which saves the soul!