“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.” (NIV)

I know this isn’t everyone’s reality so I don’t say this to brag, but I’ve been blessed with amazing in-laws. The Townleys did a fantastic job raising their two daughters and one son. While my husband tends to favor his dad with his generosity and able-to-fix-anything skills, there is one thing that he clearly got from his mom, and it cracks me up when he does it. Every time Richard talks to an animal he sounds exactly like his mom. It’s a carbon copy of the high-pitched tone and baby talk words that I know he grew up hearing any time they rescued a new pet, which happened frequently.

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He turned out to be an animal whisperer, just like her. He can pick up our cat that hates to be held and have her on her back purring like a motor. As a little boy he probably watched closely the way she handled animals in distress. And of course, he was also the recipient of her care when he was sick or injured. Her compassion was seen and felt in their home for the human and furry children alike.  

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My husband now holds our pets and the four Townley grandkids with the same tenderness as his mother. The comfort she modeled and he experienced over a lifetime now helps him to extend comfort to everyone in his care.

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The verse today from Corinthians tells us that we have a compassionate Heavenly Father who comforts us, too. When I began writing this devotional, I was writing from the assumption that everyone reading had experienced God’s supernatural comfort at some point. But just like friends I have who’ve never had a loving word or kind embrace from their mothers, some Christians might say they believe in God but he’s far off, not available for support in the daily struggles of life. If this has been your experience of God thus far in your life, take heart!  God’s character is one of love and kindness. If you have not yet experienced his comfort it is not because he doesn’t care.  

There are several ways to experience God’s comfort. God’s Spirit can comfort us. Jesus himself called the Spirit the Comforter in John 14:26. We can feel God’s comfort in prayer, like in the Lord’s Prayer when we pray to our Father who gives us daily bread and delivers us from evil, or hearing specific words of comfort as we sit in silence. Reading God’s Word can provide comfort as we read stories of people in the Bible who were comforted, the emotions of the Psalms, and the advice and encouragement found in the letters to the early churches.  But I feel like the way God often comforts us is through his people. A brother or sister in Christ can literally embrace you when life knocks you down. They can listen and offer wise counsel.  

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Receiving comfort also requires you to share your struggles. God knows, of course what you are facing, but if you are having trouble feeling his comfort, reach out to someone. After we have been comforted, we have the assurance that God is loving, he sees us, and he can carry us through trials. We then have the capacity to extend that comfort to others – and the cycle continues. God invites us to minister to others. If you have experienced God’s comfort, pass it on. It could be to someone who has gone through the same struggle or someone in close proximity, like a classmate or co-worker. Just like my husband sounds like his mother when soothing our frightened puppy, so too should we sound like our Father when comforting a world of brokenness. You can have a lasting impact as you pass on God’s comfort to those around you.

Father God, thank you that you comfort us with a super-natural comfort. Your loving arms envelope us in the midst of all sorrow, and you carry us through the valleys of our lives with tenderness and kindness. God, if we are in a season of needing comfort, would you help us to feel your loving presence. And Lord, if we have known the peace your comfort brings, would you give us eyes to see those in our lives who need us to extend that same care right now. Help us to share even just a fraction of your compassion in this hurting world. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.