The God of All Comfort

1 Cor 12:26 ESV - "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. "

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I have never walked through anything like this in my life. I have not known much in the way of suffering and this feels like I've been thrown into the deep end of a pool on the first day of swimming lessons.

However, my wife and I are completely overwhelmed by the amount of people from our family, church, and friends that have been praying for us and wanting to do anything they can to help. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

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2 Cor 1:3-7 NLT - All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. 7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. 

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I wanted to share with anyone who wants to know some of the biggest comforts.

1.) I have prayed for my children since they were in the womb. My biggest concern for them is that they would know the Savior Jesus and come to love him more than anything else this world has to offer. I have prayed for Allie longer than I have prayed for Seth (because she is older) but my prayers for Seth have always been different.

What's different about my boy is that whenever I would pray for him in the mornings I would always feel as if The Lord would come beside me and assure me that he was His. I have never worried about my son. I have always felt that The Lord had him in the palm of his hand.

When this happened, I felt that this is what The Lord had been assuring me of...that when this would happen I could abide in the peace that The Lord has been offering me that Seth is His.

2.) I typically (because I'm snooty and terrible in many ways) don't like to read books that I consider "fluffy." I usually like to read books that read more like text books and are difficult to read. Recently however, I had a co-worker recommend a book to me (I have had many people recommend this book but this time it was different). I felt like it was not just her recommending the book but The Lord strongly telling me that I needed to read it. I went home that day and purchased the book, "The Shack."

For those of you not familiar this is a book about suffering and loss. A father loses his youngest child, his daughter. I haven't finished the book yet but so far the book seems to offer that there is no solution, there is no "fix" to suffering...but abiding in the presence of The Lord brings comfort and peace.

When my son passed I knew that The Lord was there, I knew that He had been preparing me for this, I knew that this didn't take my Lord by surprise.

There are many more mercies that The Lord has given us throughout this, these are just some of the more profound ones.

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Ps 39:4-7 NLT - Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. 

Remind me that my days are numbered— 

how fleeting my life is. 

5 You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. 

My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; 

at best, each of us is but a breath.” 

Interlude 

6 We are merely moving shadows, 

and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. 

We heap up wealth, 

not knowing who will spend it. 

7 And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? 

My only hope is in you. 

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Do you know Jesus? I beg of you, if you do not know my Lord please at least consider Him. There is none more kind than my Savior Jesus. There is no one and nothing that satisfies and comforts like Him.

Matt 11:28 ESV - Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Through this I have learned that the Lord is enough. The comfort that I myself have received and currently am receiving I pass to you. Jesus is enough, Jesus sustains, Jesus comforts, Jesus redeems, Jesus gives meaning and purpose to suffering and pain.

1 Corinthians 15:3–9 (NLT) — 3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.