The God of All Comfort

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 affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7 ESV). You only need look around to see the constant presence of suffering in our world. There is an elderly woman with a walker slowly making her way from the car into the grocery store. There is a young lad in a wheel chair. There is a parent suffering from cancer. There is a child with chronic asthma. To one degree or another it is all around us. And the size of the medical profession is mute testimony to its extent. Why does a loving God permit all this suffering? Elizabeth Prentiss’ story offers and answer. Elizabeth Prentiss, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, spent most of her adult life as an invalid, seldom knowing a day without constant pain throughout her body. Yet her friends described her as a bright-eyed, cheery woman with a keen sense of humor. Elizabeth was always strong in faith and encouraging to others, until tragedy struck the Prentiss family beyond what even she could bear. The loss of two of their children brought great sorrow to Elizabeth’s life. For weeks no one could console her. In her diary she wrote of “empty hands, a worn-out, exhausted body, and unutterable longings to flee from a world that has so many sharp experiences.” During this period of grief, Elizabeth cried out to God, asking Him to minister to her broken spirit. It was at this time that Elizabeth’s story became a living testimony! During this time she wrote one of the church’s most familiar hymns: More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee! Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee; This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee... Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest; Now Thee alone I seek—Give what is best; This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to Thee... Let sorrow do its work, send grief and pain; Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain, When they can sing with me, More love, O Christ, to Thee... Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise; This be the parting cry my heart shall raise; This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ, to Thee. Yes, we do encounter afflictions of various types in this world. But God is the author of real comfort. And we learn about the comfort only God can give by trusting Him and leaning upon Him. Without first experiencing pain and then knowing God's comfort, you really can't say to others, "This is what God can do for you."