Comfort

This morning, I couldn't stop praying for certain friends who are discouraged. They feel depressed in life and are in a slog at this point. There are good things but some good has been taken away. I keep praying for them and for their children. I see the longings and the needs and the sorrow of heart. These people don't know God and I am praying for them, convert!

Then I see those that know Him are also discouraged and I am praying, revert! Go back to what you once knew. The Bible says, to him that hath more shall be given. You have, seek more!

Every one of these people is seeking for something. They experience emptiness, and they are filling up their longing with something, alcohol, pharma drugs, street drugs, food and wrong behavior. What starts off small leads to more and more of a bad thing. Every one of these dear people need comfort. Life is hard. These beautiful words call it forth, "Comfort ye, Comfort ye O my people! We are desperate for comfort. The image of a satisfied, comforted person is described in Isaiah where he says, you will be like a weaned child, fully fed and satisfied. Usually that little child after feeding falls into a deep sleep. That too would be a comfort to people who are looking to be filled and to rest.

When I first prayed, I sought the Lord for what to pray for each individual. I prayed specific details and yet it felt so futile. On my lap was my Bible opened to Isaiah 12. As my heart cried out for the masses to be comforted, I knew it felt futile because without God there could be no worthwhile change. My eyes fell on the Word, "Behold God is my salvation—the Lord JEHOVAH. Without the knowledge of God there is no comfort except a temporary one. 

The false comforts easily become a snare because the trap snaps shut and the individual is caught inside. They get false comfort, whether alcohol, drugs or aberrant behavior. Fear which has been languishing in the background comes rushing in to complicate the predicament. It is inevitable when we take our comfort in the wrong places. Fear reigns; fear of the wrongness of it, fear that it will get deeper, fear that people will find out.

Salvation is the key. It is the key that opens a huge closed door. It unlocks the entrance into a new life. God becomes our strength and our song and the Lord is our comfort. When we receive that idea, "thou comfortest me" from Isaiah12:1. We are not alone anymore. We are not our own; we were bought with a price by a gracious God. There is a way to walk in and we are comforted on that path. When we realize that God Almighty is on our side, we can rest. God is for us. God will protect us from evil. As the Lord dries every tear then we can draw water from the wells of salvation with joy.

We still have earthly problems and we still need change but now we have a change agent: GOD. He will help us and direct our path. He will both correct us and bless us. In all the earth His excellent works are known! There is no earthly comfort without God. That trap was snapped long ago by the enemy of God, the father of lies and evil. He got you. But now you are free, set free. The Lord knows you are someone with earthly needs. God knows all that!

 First, He formed you and He knew you in the womb. Many years ago, He left heaven and became a man so that He could really understand your troubles and your joys here on this earth. He knows the battles in our lives down here because He fought them. He saw it all. He had compassion on us and longed to comfort us, indeed He wept for us. His plan does include a good life for you, for your wife and for your children. He does know what satisfies. He gives us earthly comforts and heavenly knowledge to encourage us and to build us up. He is a Father to us. He tells us that His lovingkindness will never come to an end. He will satiate the weary soul and replenish every sorrowful soul. Now we are comforted because we are safe and protected, found in Him.