Charles Stanley - A Cry For Comfort
I think the time in my life when I've learned the most lessons, the most profitable lessons, and the most about God, the most about myself, is when I was going through some difficult or some pain or some hurt in my life. We all go through those things, and situations and circumstances, and we all respond differently probably. And one of the wisest things you can do when your find yourself going through difficulty is to ask God, number one, what He's saying to you. And, number two, look for the ways that God wants to work in your life.
And ask yourself the question, "God, what is Your purpose for all this"? And I think that's always the right response. God, what are you up to? Because remember this. Because He's God, and you're one of His children, nothing can touch you in any way, without God's permission. So if God has permitted you to go through some difficulty, maybe that's, it's something you brought on yourself, and maybe it's not. Then there's a reason. He has a reason behind it. And I think the people who go through difficult times in their life and don't profit from it, difficult times in their life, and complain and moan and groan and spend their time blaming others is because they never stop to think, "God, what's your purpose for this? Why are You letting this happen"?
And sometimes you may never understand why, but the issue is this: How am I going to respond? What are you saying to me, Lord? And what I want to talk about in this message is, is "A Cry for Comfort". Because many people are crying for it; don't know how to receive it; don't know where it comes from. And oftentimes give up, give up on God, give up on ever getting through the trial, the hurt that they're going through. There are two passages of scripture I want us to look at. To me, the fortieth chapter of Isaiah is one of the most beautiful chapters in the entire Old Testament.
I know we usually think about the twenty-third Psalm and so forth; but I want you to look at a couple of verses in this fortieth chapter of Isaiah. And then, the second passage is in Second Corinthians when Paul is writing about trials and hardships and comfort and so forth, and he says the most about it than anybody in the whole New Testament says. And ten times in just these few verses, he mentions the word comfort. And we certainly want to understand what do we mean by comfort? What does God mean by that?
So, if you'll turn to Isaiah chapter forty, first of all, and let's look at a few of these verses here. He begins during a time when Judah was going through difficulty and getting ready to go through some real pain. The scripture says, the Isaiah, the prophet, said, "Comfort, O comfort My people," says your God. "Speak kindly to Jerusalem; call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for all of her sins". Then if you read through this chapter, and we won't read it all, I just want you to look at a few verses, thinking in terms of comfort, going through difficulty and hardship.
And so he reminds them in verse eight, "The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever". You should circle that, write it in red, pencil it, whatever it takes, remember that. "The grass withers," things change. Difficulty, hardship, pain, suffering, winter, spring, summer, fall, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God," the scripture, "the word of our God stands forever". Which means it's eternal because God had it written. Secondly, everything in it is absolutely true. It stands, He says, forever. Then if you'll look down to verse eleven, all words of comfort. He says, "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arms He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes". And then one last passage and because they're all so awesome, the twenty-ninth verse says, "He gives strength to the weary".
Remember now, we're talking about comfort, "He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord will regain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary". You look at that chapter. Everything about it, it's just awesomely what? Encouraging. Here's the God in whom you and I believe; we worship; and here is His Word, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever".
That means that you and I are anchored. We are anchored in His presence; anchored in His power; anchored in His love. There's nothing like the watch-care of love. What did He say about situations and circumstances that we have to face in life? And it's so evident here. Then I want you to turn, if you will, to Second Corinthians for a moment. And let's just begin in the third verse and read a few verses. And here's Paul. If anyone knew anything about hardship and pain and suffering, the Apostle Paul did. No one could speak more fluently and more experientially than he did. So he begins Second Corinthians by saying, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort". Did you get that? He's the, "God of all comfort".
All real true genuine lasting meaningful comfort begins with God, "who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort others, those who are in affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we suffer also". Then he says, "And our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort".
The Apostle Paul, listen, ten times in those few verses he mentions the word comfort. And if anybody knew how to be comforted, the Apostle Paul did. If anyone knew what pain and suffering and heartache was about, certainly he knew it. So let's think about what do we mean by comfort? Well in the Old Testament, the word comfort means to encourage, primarily. And that's what that whole fortieth chapter of Isaiah was about, God encouraging His people and speaking about all the things that God had created. And reminding us that, "The grass withers, the flower fades," there are seasons and changes, "but the word of God," does not change. It's His eternal Word. And so now he comes to the New Testament, and if you'll go back to John chapter fourteen for a moment. And this is a very encouraging chapter. And I would have to say it's probably one of my most favorite chapters in the Bible.
And if you'll notice what's happening. Here's Jesus with His Apostles. He's getting ready to get crucified the next day. And so, in this fourteenth chapter of John, listen to what He says. Doesn't this sound like an awesome comforter? And the reason I want you to read a couple of these verses is because of this. There are going to be times when you and I need to be comforted. We need somebody to encourage us. And so look if you will. He knows what's happening, and then in the sixteenth verse He says to them, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever". Now if you slip over to the twenty-sixth verse, the same chapter, He identifies who the Helper is, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance".
Now, here's what I want you to look how exacting God is. Back to the sixteenth verse, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you," watch this, "another Helper". And that little Greek word is allos, which means, watch this, another of the same kind. Now listen. This is why this is so important. When you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit, third person of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit makes up the Godhead; each one having His own responsibility. So I'm going to send you the Holy Spirit, the Helper, the Comforter. He's going to be in you, with you and upon you. And the reason I'm going to send Him to you is because you're going to need Him. He's going to teach you. He's going to encourage you. He is going to watch over you. He's going to guide you and lead you.
And if you go through this fourteen, fifteenth, sixteenth chapters and other passages of scripture, The work of the Holy Spirit in our life is awesome. Every aspect of our life is included in the ministry God has given to the Holy Spirit. And one of those is that He is our Helper, our Comforter, He's our encourager. He's the one that you and I can turn to; because He says He's going to be with you and He's going to be upon you. And there's not going to be a single time in your life, once you trust Him as your Savior, that He's not there.
Somebody says, Well I don't, when I go through difficulty and hardship and pain and suffering and hurt, I don't feel like God's anywhere around. Are you listening? Say amen. Feelings have nothing to do with it. You can't go by feelings. It's reality, what is the truth? Living within you is God the Holy Spirit and He is there for very specific reasons. And He names them: to teach you; to give you understanding; right interpretation; to encourage you. And so what an awesome encouragement that no matter what, listen to this, no matter what you and I go through, watch this carefully, you cannot go through it alone if you've trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior. That's His Word. That's His pledge to you. And that's what that seal is all about. God sealed you as one of His children. Once you go to the cross, confessing and repenting of your sins and asking Him to forgive you on the basis of what He did at the cross; you accept Him as your Savior; sealed as a child of God forever.
So when I look at these verses and think about what He says, The true source of comfort, genuine comfort, lasting comfort, satisfying comfort, The true source is Almighty God. And if you'll notice, He says, "In all our afflictions". And that word, afflictions, there is crushed, to be crushed. In all of our most painful times, God is sufficient no matter what. So you have a choice. You don't have a choice about whether you're going to be sick or unless you just ill health because of foolishness. You don't have a choice about difficulty, hardship, pain, suffering and things that come our way that we have no real cause for it, as far as what we've done or not done. But God allows them for some reasons. And one of those reasons is to shape us, strengthen us, make us godly; build our faith; make us useful for the kingdom of God.
God has fantastic, divine, spiritual purposes for everything He allows in our life. The question is how do we respond? If I respond the right way, I'm going to profit from it no matter what. If I respond in the wrong way, what happens? Listen to this. You'll waste the blessings of God. You waste the blessings of God that are meant for you when you do not respond in faith, trusting Him. And we moan and we groan. You say, Well, does God get upset when we moan and groan? No, He doesn't get upset. What we say and what we feel at times is just what we feel. But the issue is not what I feel, but what I believe. If I believe the Spirit of God lives within me, which God says He is, and He's allowing this in my life for a purpose, then I'm going to ask Him to give me the Holy Spirit's enabling power to enable me to experience it, to go through it and to come out a child of God, listen, that's been polished. Been in the furnace, but now polished, and looking more like Him and sounding more like Him than ever before.
God has a divine purpose. So when I look at the passage of scripture and ask myself the question, Well, how does God comfort us? And so I want you to turn to the longest Psalm in the Bible. Can you tell me what that is? Well thank You, Jesus. You've been listening. Psalm one nineteen. And there's one verse of scripture here I want us to look at; because if you're going through some difficulty, I want you to listen carefully. If you're going through some difficulty, it makes no difference what it is. If it's physical pain, emotional pain, somebody's hurt you very deeply. When suffering, whatever sort comes, what is the wisest thing you can do immediately?
So I want to give you what God said. Hundred and nineteenth Psalm, verse fifty, "This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me". The first place you turn is not to your friends, though that's important. The first place you turn's to the Word of God. Listen carefully. God in the Bible has exactly what you need to hear when suffering and hurt and pain come your way. And if you'll just think about this. You say, Well I want to talk to my friends. Let me ask you a question. How much does your friend know compared to all the truth and knowledge and wisdom that's in the Word of God? And the reason people don't turn to the Word of God is because it's unfamiliar to them. Or say, Well I get that book of Leviticus and I don't understand that.
Let's get into the Psalms where David is wrenching his heart; pouring out his soul; telling you about his hurt and pain and suffering he's going through. And all the beautiful, beautiful responses of God. And even in this, in this one verse, look at this fiftieth verse, "This is my comfort". Listen, "This is my comfort". This is where I get comfort, when I'm "in affliction, that Your word has revived me". Energized me and lifted me; has encouraged me, the Word of God. This is why you should be reading His Word a little bit every day. Whether it's in the morning or whatever time you choose. But all of us need to be comforted at times.
So, think about this. Let's eliminate the Word of God in your life and you're going through some tough time, and so where are you going? In other words, you're hurting badly. Where are you going? I feel like I'm being crushed. And he says, "Your word has revived me". Did you get that? The Word of God revives us. And what does that mean? Gives us new life, a new outlook, a new spirit, a new sense of confidence and assurance and energy. In other words, it's the Word of God. Listen to this. Doesn't this all fit? Because God the Holy Spirit is living on the inside of you. He inspired the writing of His Word so that all of it is true. Therefore, whatever I need, the Spirit of God is going to guide me to read and see what I need.
How many times have I been on my face before God when I was going through a very, very difficult time just saying, God, speak to my heart. And I don't do it very often, but once in a while I'll say, Lord, I don't know; I just don't even know what to read right now so I'm just going to turn and just, just help me, just help me find the right thing. "My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation". I can't remember the day, but I can remember the incident and where I was on my face in my study when I was hurting very badly. And I said, God, just speak to me somehow. And I wasn't wasn't looking for any particular verse. Sixty-second Psalm, "My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation".
What I want you to see is this. God speaks personally to His children to encourage us. He knows exactly what we need. You may say, Well I'm going to ask somebody, show me where to read. Ask God to show you. You know one thing? I think about this and I just want to laugh and cry at the same time. And that is, God knows where every verse is. Amen? He knows where every verse is. He knows where every promise is. And He says His Word, they are my counselors. When I'm hurting, I want the Counselor of all counselors, the Word of God. When you have the Word of God in your heart, think about this. You have the living God within you. And all of these are His promises and His directions for walking through pain, hurt.
And you see, it's interesting that those in the scripture who give us the most instruction about that also gives us enough of their biography to see they've been there before. They've hurt, they've suffered, they know. If somebody speaks about rejection, look at Jesus, or the Apostle Paul. You name it, and in here is not only a verse, but there is a life behind it. And this is the declaration of their victory. They walked through it. They didn't run from it. They walked through it. They endured it patiently until God saw fit to bring it to an end. Have you ever trusted Him as your personal Savior? Then how do you deal with pain and hurt and sorrow and sickness and suffering? Just taking guesses about this, that and the other? This is the most precious thing you own.
Do you own a Bible? If you don't, get one. Get you a copy of the Word of God. And ask God, You may say, Well I don't even know where to turn. Here's what you do. You just say, Lord, I don't know where to turn. I'm looking for a relationship to You and I want You to show me what I should read. Only Christ within you will give your life a sense of purpose and make it possible for you to have joy in your heart, indescribable peace right in the middle of heartache and suffering and loss. When you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, everything changes. And you become a friend to the dearest friend a person could ever have, Jesus Christ, if you'll ask Him into your life.
Father, that's my prayer for every viewer, every listener, every person seated here. Thank You for being who You are. Thank You for being so adequate, so sufficient, that when our steps stumble, You're there to pick us up. When we're walking in the dark it appears You're there to shine the light ahead of us. When we feel lonely, You have us by the hand. And when we can't hear anything, You speak to our heart. I pray that every person listening, who's never trusted Jesus, will recognize life doesn't begin until there is confession, repentance of sin and acceptin' Jesus Christ, His death at the cross as payment for their sin; receiving Him as their Savior. We love You, Father. We love You for who You are and all that You do for us. Love You for thinking about us when we didn't think about You. Thank You, Father, that You're never late. You're always on time to every single need. I pray the Spirit of God will sink these truths so deep they're inescapable. In Jesus' name, amen.