“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NAB)
More than ever, this world needs the comfort of the Father, and scripture describes Him as the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.
Everyone, whether they know God or not, needs reminding that He is a God of comfort, and is filled with compassion for us. It says that as we receive encouragement from Him in our affliction, we can comfort others with the comfort we have received. That’s how it works, we receive from God and then share it with others.
Every person has a unique gift and calling which was born in them. We are not expected to imitate or be like someone else. To share the comfort we have received, we need to find our own way of expressing it. We are all on a mission to find out how to be what God made us to be. The Lord is teaching me to learn to listen more, instead of being quick to give the answers.
The world is made up of diverse personalities, uniquely different individuals, and it seems that most people do not know God at all, and also express no interest in knowing Him. We are here to share with them the comfort and compassion that we have received from God.
There are diverse personalities at the Nursing Facility, and I’ve learned that some residents despise one another. Occasionally, there is a clash, which makes it very awkward to be caught in the middle, between two residents who are in a heated argument.
Then I stop and think about each one’s story, and how I can listen, be kind and speak only when it’s necessary. Some residents have long been abandoned by their families, because of substance addiction. When we look at people in perspective of their background, it’s obvious that they are struggling for their identity, not knowing they are still loved by God, as they are.
It is through the lens of listening in silence, that I can see them through eyes of mercy. When the time is right, I find a way to share the comfort and compassion that God once showed me.
Sitting at the table with others, one of those residents, whose heroin addiction alienated her from her family years ago. Her own daughters never visit her. She wanted all of us to know what she was like before her life was messed up by heroin.
She told us that when she was a young girl, she was very devoted to God and used to pray fervently, all the time, until drugs changed everything. Now she claims that she cannot pray at all.
All I said to her was that God wants her back, and she can start by praying the simplest prayer like “Jesus help me.” Tawana was at my side supporting everything I said and together, we both encouraged her to take a baby step back to Jesus.
It’s a blessing to have the unity of faith with Tawana. Together, we encouraged her to return to the God of comfort and compassion. There is a time to talk and a time to listen, as God has been quietly listening to all of us throughout our lives.
I’m still honing the gift to know when to speak and when to listen. I think of how many times in my life, I was angry about something and directed it all toward God. In response to my complaining, God quietly listened, and after all the ranting, He was nothing but kind towards me.
(I attached a song called Kind, that says it all, more than any picture.)
Lord, thank you for the irrevocable gift given to share your comfort and compassion, expressed differently in each of us. Help us to comfort others as you have comforted us, and reveal your unending love and kindness to those who don’t know you. Amen