All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 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. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, NLT
There is so much tragedy and loss in the world, and many people have faced more than their share of it. I pray daily for people who are experiencing all kinds of losses – grief, poverty, addictions, depression, abuse… The list goes on and on. In my own life, I lost my father, both of my sisters, my best friend, my uncle, my mother and my dear niece experienced the loss of a child. We are often tempted to ask: “Why do these things happen? Why did this happen to such a good person/family? Why did this happen to me?”
We do not know the answers to these questions, so it is not really worth it to dwell on them. I was talking to an old friend recently, and after I shared what had been happening in my life in the past few years, he said “And yet you still believe in God, even after all of those things happened?” “Yes,” I replied, “especially because those things happened.” Because all I know is that, without faith, there is no hope, and that would make all of our suffering meaningless. Where would I find comfort if I have no faith?
The question remains, though: “What do we do about grief? We all want to feel better, to “get over it” as soon as possible. Of course, those of us who have experienced loss know that the pain never entirely disappears, we just learn to deal with it, and soon our joy returns in other ways. Recently, when I was sharing some of my losses with some coworkers, I realized that some of them have experienced tragedies as well. There are hurting people all around us, and sometimes we don’t even realize it.
One thing that I have learned, and that scripture even tells me, is that we are comforted when we comfort others. How do we become comforters of others? We all want to know that perfect thing to say to someone that will immediately make them feel better. Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet to erase pain instantly. All we can do is make sure that the person who is grieving knows that he or she is loved. And that we are there for them. When we help others who are experiencing grief, this means that our grief was not in vain. It provides us with the wisdom and compassion that we need so we can help others.
Helping people who are grieving provides a great opportunity for us to share hope and faith. Faith is a comfort to us because we know that our suffering is only temporary. If we lose a loved one, we know we will see them again in heaven.
My faith has taught me that sometimes we have to hurt in order to heal; fail in order to succeed; mourn in order to feel joy. We have to be weak so we can become strong, and sometimes we have to suffer to find peace.
Here are some of the bible verses that I find comforting. They remind me that I am not alone.
2 CORINTHIANS 12:8-10
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Life isn’t perfect, and just because we serve God and have faith, it doesn’t mean we will have less pain. But we are assured that even in our weakest times, God can still do great things in and through us.
ISAIAH 49:13
Sing for joy, O heavens! Rejoice, O earth! Burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on them in their suffering.
Isaiah is one of my favorite books in the bible. This scripture tells me to be joyful in pain because the Lord comforts us and has compassion for us.
ISAIAH 57:1
Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
These are only a few of the many scriptures that offer comfort and wisdom. What scriptures comfort you the most?