Comfort - Just A Minute #154
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. . . . The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever. . . . (Isaiah 40:1,8)
The best comforter in all the world is God.
He made us and understands exactly how our minds are put together. He is fully aware of what goes on in the heart of the person who is discouraged and He knows the exact way to lift him out of his depressed thoughts. Whether we take the advice or not depends on our faith and desire, but if we truly want to rise above the circumstances that knocked us down, we need to listen and trust and obey.
How then does the Lord comfort His people? One answer can be found in Isaiah's fortieth chapter.
It begins with, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people..."
The words that follow are one of the grandest and most majestic theological dissertations of Scripture. Maybe this kind of therapy comes as a surprise to us. Is theology the medication we need in times of pain and depression?
Apparently so. It's what our heavenly Father chose.
Notice some of the key elements in the passage. They make a powerful combination, just right for the physically, emotionally, or spiritually hurting. They are a medicine that can soothe the drooping soul, turn it around, and make it soar into realms of praise.
First God exalts His Word. "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever." (8) He sets it far above any human being or earthly solution. Nobody else, anywhere, can claim to be the answer to the suffering of a sin infected race. The divine Word is man's only hope for hope.
Then, the bulk of the chapter is given over to one argument, to which the rest of the Bible agrees wholeheartedly: The infinite superiority of the Creator over all creation allows Him to offer real comfort.
Because of His massive strength He can deal gently with His people while simultaneously managing oceans, earth, and heavens. The totality of nations, both small and huge, are before Him as insignificant as the fine dust on a vender's scale. It is shameful to even mention His living personality in comparison with the dumb idols of pagan cultures. The dizzying array of heavenly bodies, in its mind boggling expanse, is as easy for Him to control as the sliding of a curtain in a tent. And finally, every object of the universe, even those outside our knowledge, He has personally given a name.
Here God stops.
He has made His point and there is absolutely no reason to go further.
It's at this moment, with a seemingly incredulous voice, that the Almighty basically asks, "How can you possibly say I don't see you and can't help you? Such thinking is preposterous!"
Look to me. Consider who I am. Then wait on me.
You will mount up with wings as an eagle.
True comfort comes when the human heart hears and understands and believes in the greatness of God.
Dear Father, how easily I look at big obstacles, big adversaries, big problems, and feel overwhelmed. I forget to see how You completely dwarf them with Your infinite being. Forgive me, help me fix my eyes on You, and I will need no other comfort. Amen.
Andy