The God of All Comfort

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 2 Cor 1:3-5 (KJV)

For several weeks we have been teaching a series of lessons to our Kindergarten class on the attributes/names of God. We have learned that God is Faithful, the Bread of Life, Forgiving, Eternal, etc. Tonight we learned that God is our Comforter – The God of all comfort.

When Paul was en route to Rome and they were in the midst of a terrible storm (because they ignored Paul’s warning and advice), the angel of God stood by him in the night, giving comfort and cheer, promising no loss of life. Paul, in turn, passed that comfort on to those who were on board with him.

While this was a simple lesson, written to teach Kindergärtners that God is always with them and will always be there to comfort them, it was a good reminder for us adults too. Paul didn’t rant against the storm. He didn’t try to steer the boat or help it to land. He didn’t go around to all the prisoners and guards, telling them it was Julius, the centurion’s fault for not heeding Paul’s warning. He just rested in the word of Almighty God, trusted Him to sort it all out, and passed that comfort on to those in the ship with him.

So, regardless of what ship we are in, how bad the storm is, who is in the ship with us (prisoners and guards were with Paul), or how far away land is, remember Almighty God is there too and take comfort in His presence and His promises.