Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

It’s nice isn’t it? A nice little scripture that makes us feel good. God is the comforter. He makes us feel good when things are hard, and then since we feel good we can make others feel good too! The end?

That’s the trouble with reading scripture quickly. We can gloss over seemingly minor details and just take it for face value in the moment. I’m not saying that anything above isn’t true, I’m just saying I think there is a little more here. More from one word that is repeated in the scripture that can move it from being nice to being unsettling. The word is all.

We know God is all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, so we shouldn’t be too surprised to read He is the God of all comfort and that He comforts all our troubles. It’s a logical next step. Dwell on it though. ALL comfort. ALL of it. Not some of it. Not most of it. ALL OF IT.

What does this mean though? If means that anything that gives you comfort in your everyday life, God is in it. Troubled at work and something makes you feel better? It’s God. At home with the kids and you are able to find solace in something after a hard day? There He is.

You might be thinking right about now, wait a minute. There is no way that God is ok with me doing the “self-care” I did last week when I was feeling low. I was in a bad place, but I needed something for me. I needed an indulgence. I needed comfort. I knew that I shouldn’t, but it happened. Guess what? You’re right. God probably wasn’t ok with it. He didn’t want that for you, and the reason is because that wasn’t really comfort. That was a perceived comfort distorted by this fallen world and the temptations of the enemy.

Comfort from God doesn’t come with strings. It just brings peace. If there is something in your life that seems to bring you comfort, but later brings guilt or pain, that isn’t really comfort. That feeling you are left with is conviction. He wants more for you. He wants all of you. He wants to comfort you. He wants to comfort you so much that it overflows to the point you can’t handle it anymore so you have to comfort everyone else around you. It’s true. Just read the verse above again.

Jesus - I reach out to you for comfort. Real comfort. A comfort that brings a peace that surpasses understanding. Convict me of the things that my earthly lens makes me thing brings me the comfort only you can bring. Let me lay those things down and pick up the calling you have for me. Let it overflow to everyone around me for your will and your way. In Jesus’ name - Amen.