Short Messages table of contents | Home


 

The Lord

comforts you!

 

 

If we could recognize the extent of sorrows and the rivers of tears in our world, we would become stunned or go mad from great despair and horror. However, the Torah and the Gospel offer us true comfort and help in the midst of darkness. The Merciful Lord inspired the prophet Isaiah with words full of hope:

 

”As one whom his mother comforts,

so I will comfort you”

(Isaiah 66:13)

 

The Almighty God made a mother’s love and her gentleness a symbol of his own mercy. Whoever wants to understand the comfort of God, may observe how a mother tends her children, then he would be able to grasp some of the Lord’s eternal comfort.

 

A mother carries her children in her womb, giving birth to them with pain, so her children become a part of herself. She feels responsible for them, watches them, cares for them night and day, breastfeeds them when they are hungry, washes them several times every day, embraces them, jokes with them and talks to them, even though they do not understand a word. She never leaves her children alone, but worries about them, loves them and prays for them, for they are a deposit in her hands by God himself. A mother is full of kindness and love toward her children.

 

As her children grow up, she buys clothes and shoes for them, washes, cooks and cleans for them, and chooses the best possible school for them. When they return from school, she teaches them and helps them with their homework. If her children have done wrong, she rebukes them or punishes them, hoping to see them grow up with integrity. She warns them about the danger of drugs, of sexual relations and of contacts with evil spirits and sorcery. She tries to find good friends for them. She, herself, remains the best example for her children.

 

Children know that they can come home in spite of their failings. They confess their problems to their mother and she takes note and hides them in her heart. She teaches her children true faith and tells them stories about the greatness of God. A mother always appears tireless.

 

The kind comfort of God

 

The practical love of a mother, her merciful compassion, her readiness to sacrifice and her patience symbolize to us the love and comfort of God. God is full of love for all who turn to him. He assures us:

 

”I, even I, am He who comforts you”

(Isaiah 51:12)

 

Even in captivity, the Creator and Controller of the universe confirmed to his prophet and his people, that he is prepared to comfort and help them provided they turn to him and entrust themselves to him. He, the Almighty, is willing to help and console. Therefore, if you have any problem in your life, do not keep it to yourself, but share it with your Lord and you will see that he can do great things as you trust in him.

 

The Creator created us and gave us life, strength, mind, will, wisdom, body and soul. We are not dead stones, nor deaf plants, but free men with hearts, minds and consciences. The Omniscient knows our talents and failings. He knows the straight way for us and wants us to walk in the pathway of good works which he prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10). He has a specific plan for you. He looks after you more than your parents can. He always wishes the best for you.

 

He does not leave you alone in fear, offense and confusion, but takes care of you and teaches you to pray,

”Give us this day our daily bread”

(Matthew 6:11).

Do not forget that he opened the door of education before you. He knows beforehand the suitable partner for you. He watches over you and keeps you from Satan’s deceit and schemes. Be wise and commit yourself to the fatherly God that he may guide you aright.

 

The corruption in the world calls down God’s judgment. However, the Holy One did not give way to our destruction yet, but sent the Son of Mary to reconcile us to himself. He invites everyone to repent and come to him, accepting Christ’s atonement for the sins of the world.

 

”For God so loved the world that He gave His Christ,

That whoever believes in Him should not perish

But have everlasting life”

(John 3:15-16)

 

As a mother cleans her children several times a day, so the Holy God wants to purify, sanctify and renew you.

 

The Merciful and Compassionate One is ready to help you, even in your darkest hour of distress. He is prepared to forgive you your sins, even the hidden ones, if you confess them before him. He loves you, wants to talk directly to you, and waits for your coming to him. When will you thank him for his love, submit your secrets to him and learn to walk according to his good will? He welcomes you with wide stretched arms.

 

The plan of the Most High extends even further. He intends to adopt you that you may become a lawful child of his. He wants to grant you of his Holy Spirit so that you may also become a spiritual son or daughter of his. The love of God is greater than the measure of our minds. He wants to pour his eternal life into your mortal body. Come to him, seek him and you will find him as he promised:

 

”You will seek Me and find Me,

When you search for Me with all your heart”

(Jeremiah 29:13)

 

The comfort of Christ

 

”Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted”

(Matthew 5:4)

 

Christ came to our suffering world with divine love, full of compassion. He felt pity for all who were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:36).

 

He called his disciples to follow him without treating them as slaves. He became an example to them and gently guided them. When John and his brother wanted to command fire to fall from heaven on those who rejected them, he rebuked the two, and said, ”You do not know what manner of spirit you are of” (Luke 9:55).

 

When Peter, the spokesman of the disciples, denied his Master, even though Jesus had already warned him of this lapse, Peter wept bitterly. However, the Son of Mary, raised from the dead, searched for him, pardoned him and comforted him by inviting him again to serve his Lord.

 

When Judas, the betrayer, delivered his Master to his enemies with a kiss, he did not curse him or rebuke him, but asked, ”Friend, why have you come? Are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48; Matthew 26:50).

 

Jesus is God’s incarnate love. He was merciful as his Father in heaven is merciful (Luke 6:36). His healing miracles were evidence of his compassion on the poor and the sick. When he saw the weeping widow on her way to bury her only son, Christ stopped the funeral procession, raised her son to life and gave him back to his mother.

 

When ten lepers, who were not allowed to approach the healthy, heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried from afar and asked him to heal them. He did not drive them away, but cured them of their leprosy by the authority of his word. When he met the demon-possessed, the unclean spirits cried out in despair. He did not run away from them, but freed the possessed from their unclean spirits by his almighty word.

 

Jesus stilled the hurricane to save his disciples from drowning. He satisfied five thousand hungry listeners using only five loaves and two fish. He forgave the sins of the paralyzed man who was lowered before him through the rooftop, he blessed the children and he encouraged Lazarus’ sister,

”If you believed, you would see the glory of God”

(John 11:40).

 

Jesus loved everyone, even his enemies. He knew the sins of people and their inability to save themselves, so, he took the sins of the world upon himself and atoned for them, as the prophet Isaiah had predicted:

 ”Surely He has borne our grief

and carried our sorrows;

Yet we esteemed Him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

(Isaiah 53:4-6)

 

The Son of Mary completed the redemption of mankind and established righteousness acceptable to God. He qualified us, through his atoning death, to receive the comforting Spirit from God.

 

The coming of the Holy Spirit

into the followers of Christ

 

Everyone who opens his heart to the love of God and the healing mercy of Christ and accepts his atonement, receives the divine Spirit of comfort, who is also the Spirit of truth. Jesus had promised his followers shortly before his death:

 

”I will pray to the Father,

and He will give you another Helper,

That He may abide with you forever,

The Spirit of truth,

whom the world cannot receive,

Because it neither sees Him nor knows Him;

But you know Him,

for He dwells with you and will be in you”

(John 14:16-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-14)

 

The comforting Spirit stands for the great promise of the Father. He is offered, in the name of Christ, to whoever asks him (Luke 11:13).

 

This Holy Spirit reveals to us the truth about God, our spiritual Father, about ourselves and about the future. He opens the eyes of our heart to divine truth, establishes the true faith in us, and gives us everlasting assurance. He is our Advocate in the Day of Judgment and our consolation when convicted in our consciences.

 

The Spirit of truth guides us every minute of our lives, as the apostle Paul testifies:

 

”As many as are led by the Spirit of God,

these are sons of God”

(Romans 8:14)

 

This comforting Spirit helps us in folly, frustration and failure. He gives us reassurance, peace and protection from lurking dangers, and frees us from the grip of death. This Spirit inspires us to live wisely and meekly and overcomes our sins if we reject and hate them. The Spirit of God is holy. He wants to sanctify us, guide us to confess our iniquities before God, and move us toward honesty, purity and reconciliation.

 

The divine Comforter does not glorify himself but glorifies the Son of Mary, our Redeemer, and helps us understand the signs of his love. The spirit of God is the everlasting life in himself, and the power which will by no means cease. He comforts us, overcomes our death by his life and abides in us forever.

 

This comforting Spirit dwells in the followers of Christ because they believe in his atonement. This spirit corrects their behavior so that God’s love, goodness and kindness will appear in them. This Comforter guides us to spread the word of God and to serve the needy. He fills us with hymns of praise and thankfulness. The Merciful Comforter wants to change us into comforters, as the apostle Paul prayed:

 

”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of mercies

and God of all comfort,

who comforts us in all our tribulation,

that we may be able to comfort those

who are in any trouble,

with the comfort

with which we ourselves are comforted by God”

(2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

 

The Spirit of God does not change the situation around us quickly, but first changes ourselves by Christ’s redemption. Our hearts long for our Savior because he loved us from the beginning. He gives us the power of his grace through the verses of his Gospel. Whoever reads the words of Christ, keeps them and acts accordingly, will remain a blessed and happy person.

 

Have you experienced the comfort of God?

 

If you want to know more about the reality of the comforting Spirit, we are ready to send you free of charge the Gospel of Christ, together with meditations and prayers, so that you may find peace with God in the midst of darkness.

 

Comfort the needy around you

 

If the words of this leaflet gave you new hope, pass it on to those who seek peace with God, so that they too may receive comfort in their despair. Tell us how many leaflets you are ready to deliver so that we may send you a limited number of copies for your efforts.

 

WATERS-OF-LIFE

P.O. BOX 15755  •  PITTSBURGH, PA 15244

USA

internet: www.waters-of-life.org

e-mail: info@waters-of-life.org



Short Messages table of contents | Home