Comfort: Not Taking Any Scraps

"I, even I, am he who comforts you." ~ Isaiah 51:12

Friends come and go, but there is One who never leaves.

When others forget us, neglect us, or misunderstand us, there's still Someone as near as our breath. He's not just the Comforter, but the God of ALL comfort, and my God doesn't give scraps.

"We may venture to hope sometimes that little scraps of comfort may be granted to us. But we run away frightened at the thought of the all comfort that is ours in the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Hannah Whitall Smith).

I don't know if we're frightened of all comfort, as much as we don't believe we'll receive it.

I was never comforted much in my childhood, left to endure a lot of pain in silence. As an adult, it's easy to revert back to "nobody really cares" and pull back, trying to comfort myself. But this is the Lord's job, to comfort all who mourn. Those who don't need the comfort won't, of course, experience His comfort, but that's why I think it's good when we're afflicted. We then experience what we've read in the Scriptures - His promises, His comfort, His indwelling life, and, oh my - grace upon grace.

"But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us..." ~ 2 Corinthians 7:6

"For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song." ~ Isaiah 51:3

When I'm downcast or ambling through the dark, I remember He sees what I need. He understands every ache, every sigh, every tear, and wants to lift any despair. So many personal trials have placed me in the tender position to sense His Everlasting Arms. God's words may fall deaf on hearts that sense no need, but here in my aloneness, I'm ready to receive.

And so I'm reminded of words I underlined long ago: "God knows that it is better for us to need His comfort and receive it, than for us not to need it and be without it" (Hannah Whitall Smith).

I'm filled with need on any given day. We're all needy, whether we realize or not. And I think we're drawn into closer union with Him when we give up pretending, and receive every bit of His comfort. Not scraps of His comfort, so that we still go around with lack, but ALL comfort - just as He said.

"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." ~ Matthew 5:4

Because, eventually, life will take a turn from what we've known and loved. It might be hard to believe words of comfort then, but in my experience, God bends low to comfort because He's our Daddy. When we turn our thoughts to His comfort and let the power of His Spirit move through His Word, unbelief has no room to grow and comfort is ours to keep.