Rabbi Schneider - Can We Find Comfort in All Circumstances?
Shalom uvracha, peace and blessings beloved one. Last time I was talking about the supernatural ministry of God, of Hashem to you and I of comfort. And I talked about the fact that we'll find that while we're going through the most difficult times in our life is when God's comfort oftentimes is experienced in the sense of that we're truly experiencing something personal in the most real way.
I have an example that really inspired me. This happened to me just the other day. I awoke from my sleep at approximately 5:30 AM. And the reason that I awoke was I was having a very painful dream and the dream that I was having involved in episode in the life of my earthly family, not my immediate family, not my wife and children, but my brother and sister and father. And I had gone through a very painful episode with them a few years ago. And just the rejection that I experienced. I'm like an outsider to the Jewish community. I'm like an outsider to my own family, again, not Cynthia or my children, but to my parents and to my siblings, to my brother and sister.
So in this dream, I was reliving an episode that happened several years ago with my family. And I was just feeling incredible pain and incredible rejection and humiliation. And I had already been praying about that episode for close to two years. And so when I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling the pain of it all, it really dissettled me. Like, why am I still dealing with this pain? I mean, I've been praying about this. It's 5:30 in the morning. I knew that I was so disturbed I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. So I got out of bed and went down to my prayer room and I just started praying "Father, God, why am I still dealing with this pain, help me to get through this, shepherd me through this Lord, encourage me through this. Let me know there's victory on the other side of this thing."
That same day, I got a text from a friend of mine. It's actually one of our employees at DJJ. I don't think I've ever received a prophetic message from him in all the time I've known him if I have, I don't remember, but I mean less than five times in you know, about 10 years, I don't know exactly how many years, but I've known him for several, you know, many years. So it's not something that's always happening between us. But that day, again, I, you know, went down to my prayer room, prayed about this. That day I get a text from him from the book of Romans chapter eight, in which the Lord said that we've been appointed, not only to suffer with Christ, but to be glorified with him. So he sent me that text and he said, "Rabbi, I just felt led to send this to you today." Again, this is very uncommon. I wrote him back, I said, "What made you feel that you were supposed to send this to me? What were you feeling?" He said, "I don't know. Maybe that you're going through something difficult with your family. Some type of persecution."
Beloved what a comfort to know that God was right with me in this pain and was assuring me, listen, I'm with you in this. You're suffering, not purposely, but because of me and you're going to receive my reward for it. And it just shows you and I beloved the fact that God is faithful. And I want to assure you today that for your entire life, the God of peace, the God of comfort will continue to strengthen you and comfort you and give you the victory in the end. And finally, you'll be glorified even as King Jesus was raised from the dead.