Tag:

comfort

Tidings of Joy!

by TerryLema

“O Tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oh tidings of comfort and joy.”

I wrote yesterday of my love of the Christmas carol God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. I especially love those words above that come at the end of every verse. Comfort and Joy.

David who wrote Psalm 23, which always brings comfort to my soul, also wrote Psalm 30. He concludes that song with these words, “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.”  [vs 11-12]

God turns our “wailing” (our mourning) into dancing. He removes our “sackcloth” (our shame and grief) and clothes us with “joy.” He gives us songs in our silence.

Not only comfort, but joy. I remind people often, as I have done in these devotions, that the opposite of the “Joy of the LORD” is not sadness nor tears. It is weakness and defeat. Even amid our greatest losses, where we need God’s abundant comfort, we can have the “Joy of the LORD.” It is that joy which births songs in our hearts and allows us to come to our Blessed LORD with thanksgiving.

The chorus of “tidings of comfort and joy” express so much. With the coming of the Christ Child, God brought both comfort and joy to this fallen world. Now, while we walk our path through life, we are assured and reassured that He will give us songs in the night to comfort our souls.

“Oh tidings [such great tidings] of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oh tidings of comfort and joy” are ours.

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Tidings of Comfort …

by TerryLema

One of my favorite Christmas carols is God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. While I love the words expressed in the many verses, I love the small “chorus” that comes at the end of each.

“O Tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oh tidings of comfort and joy.”

Don’t you love that word “comfort,” especially when we know that God is our comfort.  David expressed that wonderful truth in that most blessed Psalm 23. “I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” [vs 4]

I was a Hospice Chaplain in California before coming to Idaho. I did a lot of funerals. Too often, the elderly were unable to attend church and as churches changed pastors or congregations, they lost touch. As chaplain I was often called upon to conduct their services. I did some for others also who just never made a church connection. I tried to make each service as personal as possible, but I almost always recited Psalm 23 just prior to the closing prayer.

Our LORD is our comfort. Jesus identified Himself as the Great Shepherd. Because He is, we can fear no evil. He is always with us. His rod to protect and correct, His staff to lead and guide bring comfort to our souls.

Comfort. During the holidays we often reflect as much on what we have lost as what we have gained. Many have lost loved ones, family, or friends. Some have lost income, or experienced divorce. Children have grown up and perhaps moved far from home.

Christmas can remind us that what we used to have, may not be ours anymore.  That is when we need those “tidings of comfort and joy” that flow from the Nativity.

God has come to comfort us. We have a LORD who knows what it is to experience loss and pain with us, who mourns with us, who weeps with us. In that I find the greatest of “comfort.”

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Comfort

by TerryLema

As I wrote yesterday about the discouragement of having symptoms return from the two auto-immune diseases I battle, I thought more about the Scripture from 1Thessalonians 5:14. The entire verse reads:

“And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are irresponsible, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” [HCSB]

Comfort the discouraged. Some translations use “encourage” instead of comfort.

For Comfort/Encourage the word is paramutheomai. It comes from two words that mean “Close beside” and “soothing speaking.”  It is comforting that shows sympathy (encouragement), cheering someone up by soothing speech with a personal touch.

It does not mean pumping someone up by false cheerleading! And yet, how often is that the way we interpret encourage. We say, “it’s gonna get better,” or “This too shall pass,” or we throw Scriptures at a person. We may get them revved up for a while, but I guarantee that discouragement will find its way back.

I associate the word “comfort” with a hug (that close beside part of the word), and with a quietness that springs from a gentle and peaceful spirit (that soothing speaking part of the word).

When I am disheartened or discouraged, I just want someone to put their arms around me, pray for me, tell me they love me. I know they usually cannot change my situation, but to know that someone is there for me when I need to reach out brings a deep peace of spirit.

Today: I am thankful for the hugs of fellow believers and their soft words of love.

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The Discouraged

by TerryLema

Recently I suffered a bit of a setback in my battle with these two auto-immune diseases. I have been trying to reduce one of my medications (the one that has the most long-term side effects). I thought I was having some success, less medication, no sign of the PMR or GCA. Then one morning, the symptoms returned in the form of a lot of pain.

I always have fatigue (which can be caused by the diseases, the medications, or the long-term effects of the virus I had a while back). I try to ignore the fatigue. When the pain returned, however, I knew my plan to get off the meds was not working. It was certainly discouraging. But then discouragement is often part of life. And it is certainly a tactic of the enemy of our soul.

When the Jews returned from captivity in Babylon after 70 years, Ezra energized the people to begin to rebuild the temple. The inhabitants of the land did everything they could to discourage them. “Then the people who were already in the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build.” [Ezra 4:4 HCSB]

Later when Nehemiah came to Jerusalem and set to rebuild the wall to protect the city, he experienced the same thing.  “For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, ‘They will become discouraged in the work, and it will never be finished.’” [Nehemiah 6:9 HCSB]

If the enemy can keep us in a state of discouragement, he knows the work will not get done. It is difficult to walk worthy of the calling of the LORD in good times, it is next to impossible to do it when we are beat down with discouragement.

But there is help.  Paul reminded the Thessalonian church to “comfort the discouraged” in 1Thessalonians 5:14.

God has provided a comfort and as believers we are to bring that comfort to those who are beaten down by the setbacks of life.

Today: Thank you LORD for Your comfort, and for Your children who share it with those who are discouraged.

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The LORD is in His Holy Temple

by TerryLema

I had a sleepless night recently. I drifted off to sleep my usual time, 9 PM, but was up at 10:30 PM, 12:30 AM, and 2 AM. I decided at 2 AM to try sleeping in the recliner. Stayed about an hour when I concluded that was not going to work, so headed back to bed. After fussing in bed for a while, I just got up. 3:30 AM. Not quite wide awake, but still unable to sleep.

sent out and posted my devotions. And then I just sat there. The house and neighborhood were quiet. That is a rarity.

As I focused on the quiet, I heard the Spirit whisper … “The Lord is in His holy temple; let everyone on earth be silent in His presence.” [Habakkuk 2:20 HCSB]

I obeyed the Spirit of God. I kept silent. I leaned in to hear what the LORD might whisper to me in that silence [as He whispered to Elijah in the cave.] [1Kings 19]

What profound truths would He reveal? What great and mighty directives might He give? I heard one word, “comfort.”

I was coming off a difficult week. The enemy of my soul had roughed me up pretty good that week. I thought I had failed a friend, failed the LORD as well. I had allowed some anxiety in, and a bit of depression was creeping around the corner. I had battled, rebuked, and done everything I thought I needed to do.  Everything but one thing.

I had not allowed the LORD to comfort me. God wanted to give me His comfort, but I would not let Him. I did not feel worthy of it.  Until that early morning when I could not sleep, too tired to fight, He reminded me in the quiet before dawn that He is in His Holy Temple.

Amen & Amen

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Acquainted with Grief

by TerryLema

That great Chapter 53 of Isaiah describes the first coming of the Messiah. We know that description fit Christ Jesus our Savior, who was rejected and brutalized by those He came to save. Part of that description says that He was “A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” [Isaiah 53:3 NKJV]

As I read through that chapter, I was drawn to those three words, “acquainted with grief.” To some extent, those three words describe life. At some point, all of us will become “acquainted with grief.”

 It may come sooner for some, or later for others, but grief is a certainty. I say that not because I am a fatalist or pessimist. In fact, I am an optimist! However, when sin and death entered this world as mankind rebelled in the Garden of Eden, grief became a certainty.

Grief becomes our companion when we lose a loved one. It walks with us when health is threatened. It abides in our aging. It flows through our sin (and the sin of others against us) as well as sin’s consequences. Once grief arrives, it never completely leaves.

But the one thing that I take great comfort in is those few words that precede “acquainted with grief” in Isaiah’s passage … our LORD is a “Man of Sorrows”, and He knows what it is like to be “acquainted with grief.”

 My LORD knows grief. And not only does He know it, but He can also provide comfort to us when grief threatens to overwhelm. Hear what Paul said:

 “Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows.” [2 Corinthians 1:3-5 HCSB]

We may be “acquainted with grief,” but because of Christ Jesus, “our comfort also overflows.” Amen & Amen

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Comfort

by TerryLema

I meandered into Isaiah 40 the other day. Not sure how I got there. I think I was looking for scriptures on strength and suddenly Isaiah 40 popped up in my online concordance. It took me to verse 29 but I decided to read the whole chapter first.

God announces to Isaiah in the first verse the theme of His message, “’Comfort, comfort My people,’ says your God” and comfort is exactly what I found there.

“See, the Lord God comes with strength, and His power establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His gifts accompany Him.” [vs 10 HCSB]

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Yahweh is the everlasting God, the Creator of the whole earth. He never grows faint or weary; there is no limit to His understanding.” [vs 28 HCSB]

Comfort is resident in the LORD God Almighty. He alone rules. He is the everlasting God. He is the Creator. There is no weakness in Him. He is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and He loves us.

There is little comfort in this world and what is there is tenuous and fleeting. As we watch the “signs of the times” we find a hint of the soon return of our Lord Christ Jesus. If we are judging correctly in that, we know that things here in this world are not going to get better or easier. They are not going to return to what they once were. They are only going to get worse and more difficult.

We may shore up nations, economies, and societies for a brief time, but eventually they will crash, and we will witness the LORD God Almighty establish His rule by His power. His everlasting kingdom will come, and all will bow the knee to Him.

Comfort, comfort My People! Amen

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Comfort Amid Dark Valleys

by TerryLema

Oh, what blessedness and goodness is found in Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” [KJV]

That is the way most of us have learned it and memorized it, from the King James. I am often reminded, and have often reminded others, that death for a Christian is simply walking through that valley of the shadow. We go straight from our last breath in this life to our eternal first breath in the next … directly into the Presence of our LORD.

But the comfort and goodness found in Psalm 23:4 is more than just for a death experience. When I read that verse in the Holman Christian Standard Bible it reads: “Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me.”

Even when I go through the darkest valley, the LORD is there. And, if He is there in the darkest of valleys, He is also there when we go through those valley which are perhaps a little less dark, but still dangerous and difficult.

While death is that final darkest valley, we are still going to go through other dark times in our lives.  There will be valleys which contain broken relationships, financial difficulties, health issues, wayward children, and a host of other experiences.

Our LORD protects us no matter the valley. He will use His rod and His staff, the equipment of a shepherd to ward off danger and comfort His sheep. He watches over us.

What a wonderful God we serve!

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God of All Comfort

by TerryLema

I have been asked so many time how people endure and recover from the harsh realities of life. After suffering loss, people are confused and lost, even if the loss was expected. When the loss is unexpected, it can be even worse.

Christians often ask me after experiencing a loss, how anyone that does not know the LORD can cope with the accompanying grief.

Grief is a journey that no one genuinely wants to undertake.  And yet each of us at some time will experience it.  I have walked my own grief journeys, and I have walked with others through theirs.

As I face grief, or see others beginning their own grief journey, I am reminded of what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians.

“Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”  [2 Corinthians 1:3-4 HCSB]

Paul identifies our God with two titles. He is the Father of Mercies. And He is also The God of All Comfort.  All Comfort!

 All comfort comes from Him, whether it is received by Christians or by those who are not. In loss, He alone sustains people, even when they are not aware of that.

Right now, people I love are beginning a grief journey. I pray the God of All Comfort meets them, sustains them, guides them by the power of His Spirit through their journeys. I pray that they are aware of His comfort. I pray I am able to comfort them with the comfort I have often received from my LORD.

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Comforted by Judgment?

by TerryLema

This is such a turbulent time we are living in. I ventured into a grocery store the other day, mask on, sanitizer waiting in my car when I exited. I did not handle a lot of things, just got what I needed. We were out of meat and I do not like to order my meat online for pick up. I never seem to get what I want, so into the store I went.

A large sign greeted me at the door, “Masks Now Required for Entry.” There was no one stationed there making sure masks were required and I noticed half the customers in the store did not have a mask on. When I arrived at the checkout, I found two very frustrated clerks, one checking out, the other bagging groceries.

I asked them how they were doing and found out quickly, they were not doing very well. The parent company had not seen fit to station someone at the door, as other stores had done to turn away anyone without a mask. They felt they were at risk, said people came through their lines coughing and sneezing and did not seem to care. I felt for them but had nothing with which to comfort them except to say I would pray for them.

I was reading in Isaiah this morning and came to this passage, “The arrogant constantly ridicule me, but I do not turn away from Your instruction. Lord, I remember Your judgments from long ago and find comfort.” [vs 119:51-52]

I thought about those clerks. They were following company rules, wearing their masks, working hard, but they were surrounded by arrogant customers who thought they did not need to follow the rules to shop there. In essence, these customers were flaunting their arrogance in the face of those clerks who were doing what they were supposed to be doing.

Sometimes we feel like those clerks. We follow the instructions of our LORD, but the arrogant surround us in their disobedience and ridicule us. Still we maintain our obedience to God’s will and ways. Our comfort comes now as we remember God’s judgments … and judgment is exactly what that word means … taking a case against someone before a judge.

We remember that God will not allow the wicked to win. He has in the past brought judgment, He will in the future bring a final judgment that will end all evil forever and ever. We can find comfort in that.

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