{"id":1074,"date":"2012-04-23T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2012-04-23T06:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/04\/god-the-giver-of-comfort\/"},"modified":"2012-04-23T06:00:01","modified_gmt":"2012-04-23T06:00:01","slug":"god-the-giver-of-comfort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/first15\/2012\/04\/god-the-giver-of-comfort\/","title":{"rendered":"God the Giver of Comfort"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Weekly Overview:<\/h2>\n<p>Our heavenly Father is the giver of every good gift. His mercies are vast, powerful, and real. His love has the ability to completely overwhelm and satisfy every one of our needs. Everything he gives us satisfies, transforms, and leads us to abundant life. As we spend this week stirring up our affections toward God, allow your heart to become soft and open. Allow his loving character to draw you close and provide life to every dry and weary place in your soul.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Scripture:<\/h2>\n<p><em>\u201cAs one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.&#8221;<\/em> Isaiah 66:13<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"worship\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Worship:<\/h2>\n<h3>We Dance by Bethel Music featuring Steffany Frizzell Gretzinger<\/h3>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: block; margin: auto auto 30px auto; width: 100%; float:left;\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; float: left; border: 1px solid #000000; background-color: #484846; padding: 2px; -moz-border-radius: 3px; -khtml-border-radius: 3px; -webkit-border-radius: 3px; border-radius: 3px;\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fFfw6OSbUwE?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<h2>Devotional:<\/h2>\n<p>Isaiah 66:13 says, <em>\u201cAs one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.&#8221;<\/em> Your heavenly Father is the God of comfort. When the world takes its toll on you, he longs to wrap you in his loving embrace and bring you comfort to cover all your pain. In the face of trials and tribulations, he desires to provide you comfort in the fact that he works all things for your good. And when everything seems bent against you, he longs to sing comfort over you as he fills you with the joy and foundation of his presence.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah 31:13-14 says, <em>\u201c\u2018Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,\u2019 declares the Lord.&#8221;<\/em> God is in the business of turning what your enemies meant for evil into the very source of your joy. He loves to transform what was once your greatest sorrow into a reason for gladness. He longs to lead you to a life of abundance and satisfaction when the world around you seems to be dry, weary, and depleted.<\/p>\n<p>God is calling out to you, <em>\u201cCome to me . . . and I will give you rest&#8221;<\/em> (Matthew 11:28). He is beckoning you to open your heart to him and receive the comfort only he can provide. Sometimes opening our hearts to him can be difficult. To have our wounds be truly comforted and healed requires allowing him to come and speak to the vulnerable and sore places of our hearts. We all have wounds deep down that we have worked tirelessly to keep hidden from others and even ourselves. We all have areas of our lives that seem to hurt too greatly to bring up again, even if the very act of bringing them to the surface will be our source of healing.<\/p>\n<p>When God beckons you to open up the hurt places in your life to him, know that he will only ever speak love, mercy, and forgiveness. And know that after he gets done comforting you, the area that used to be a harmful wound will be a continual source of joy, gladness, and abundant life.<\/p>\n<p>Open your heart to your heavenly Father today as you pray. Allow the Spirit to guide you to wounds that need to be comforted and healed. Allow him to wrap you up in his loving presence and guide you into the abundant life he intends for you.<\/p>\n<h2>Guided Prayer:<\/h2>\n<div style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">\n<p><strong>1. Meditate on God\u2019s desire and ability to comfort your every hurt.<\/strong> Reflect on his promise to provide you rest where you are weary.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,\u2019 says the Lord, \u2018and I will heal him.&#8221;<\/em> Isaiah 57:18-19<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThen shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord.&#8221;<\/em> Jeremiah 31:13-14<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cCome to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.&#8221;<\/em> Matthew 11:28<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Ask the Spirit to guide you to areas of your heart that need to be comforted and healed.<\/strong> What past or present afflictions have wounded you? What\u2019s at the source of your mourning, sorrow, or pain? What does God long to heal today?<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Ask God to show you how he feels about the person, situation, or belief that wounded you.<\/strong> Ask him to show you where he was through it all. Remain in his presence, allowing him to speak and provide comfort and healing. Spend as long as it takes for your hurt to be comforted.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, <em>\u201cBlessed 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.&#8221;<\/em> As you receive healing and comfort, God will use you to provide healing and comfort to others. God loves to use those who were broken and now healed to guide others to the place of comfort. Look for those suffering from an area in which God has healed you and comfort them with the comfort you have been shown by your heavenly Father.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><br \/>\n<strong>Extended Reading:<\/strong> <a title=\"Jeremiah 31\" href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Jeremiah+31&#038;version=ESV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeremiah 31<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weekly Overview: Our heavenly Father is the giver of every good gift. His mercies are vast, powerful, and real. His love has the ability to completely overwhelm and satisfy every one of our needs. Everything he gives us satisfies, transforms, and leads us to abundant life. As we spend this week stirring up our affections&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":636,"featured_media":1077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-first15"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>God the Giver of Comfort<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Weekly Overview: Our heavenly Father is the giver of every good gift. His mercies are vast, powerful, and real. His love has the ability to completely overwhelm and satisfy every one of our needs. Everything he gives us satisfies, transforms, and leads us to abundant life. 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