Saturday, August 29, 2015

Comfort, not Preaching

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may bebable to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1: 3-4

What do you say to someone who has been hurt so badly?  I am of the belief that the last thing that someone who is hurting wants to hear is another "preachy" bible verse on how God can comfort them.  Grief, hurt and pain are real to someone who is going through it, and many times scripture just can't heal those wounds.   Although the bible is filled with scripture meant to  comfort those in need, all too often when we are going through that fire those verses are the farthest thing from our mind.  So, how do we comfort those among us who are hurting?  When confronted with those who were hurting, Jesus never used the opportunity to remind someone of the word of God.  Although Jesus definately knew the scriptures, his heart in these times was to comfort the afflicted and not to teach them.  Teaching would come later.
  For me, personaly, having a group of christian friends to surround me in times when I was hurting has meant alot to me.  When my mother underwent surgery to remove a tumor on her brain in 2009, I was blessed to have such a group of men stand beside me to lift me up.  The doctor had informed us that there was a good chance my mom would not survive her surgery, and this shook me.  I didn't need a preacher to recite to me bible verses, I needed a FRIEND.  Thankfully, I had a few brothers in Christ who came beside me to remind me of Gods love and grace.  I still consider a few of these men VERY close to me today.  Did God present this season in my life to develop relationships with these brothers?  I'm not sure, but it's certainly not out of his reach to do that.  Sometimes just coming beside someone who's hurting can mean more than ANY bible verse can teach us...or someone else.

~Scott~

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