" COMFORT "

Good Evening All,

Here in North Carolina, USA the pollen is coloring my world, yellow/green...
Seriously, this weeks topic is titled "Comfort" and most of us on the eastern seaboard are truly not in our comfort zones. Much sneezing, runny eyes and clogged up noses, etc. The pharmaceutical companies I would assume always do well and this time of the year must be an added bonus to them.

" Comfort " to give strength and hope to (2) Consolation... What or who gives you comfort, it sounds like it would be an easy thing to answer. It's comforting to know that your automobile will start when you turn the key, or the lights will come on when you flip the switch. Knowing that God keeps his promises can comfort you also. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, all one has to do is to obey God. Listen, God may be attempting to lead you to a place of greater service and usefulness for him. So keep your wits about you and be prepared. Don't allow the comfort and security of your present position make you miss God's plan for you. Don't give in to society's pressures. Don't settle for comfort without commitment. Stand up against evil by living as God would have his people live. I caution you not to live as Lot did in the bible, one of God's angels on a mission had to grab him by the hand in order to get him out of harms way.

Are you one of many who are of the mind set that believing in God protects them from trouble. When calamity comes, they question God's goodness and justice. You should not give up on God because He allows you to have bad experiences. Faith in God does not guarantee personal prosperity, and lack of faith does not guarantee troubles in this life.

God is capable of rescuing us from suffering, but He may also allowing suffering to come for reasons we cannot understand. It is Satan's strategy to get us to doubt God at exactly this moment. If we always knew why we were suffering, our faith would have no room to grow. When we do God's will, we are not guaranteed a comfortable life. But we are promised that everything, even our discomfort, has meaning in God's plan.

Ways to truly comfort another in pain:

1. Don't just talk for the sake of talking;
2. Don't sermonize by giving pat answers;
3. Don't accuse or criticize;
4. Put yourself in the other person's place; and
5. offer help and encouragement.
   

" THE BEST COMFORTERS ARE THOSE WHO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT
PERSONAL SUFFERING ".

Until next time...

Jim