God wants to comfort us. He does it through many things, the main one being the peace He gives us. He gives us peace and blessed assurance. He gives us a presence from Himself that reassures us.
Often God does try to comfort us, but our fear and sin block Him out. Fear is sin, and sin separates us from God. If we get to a point where we are not feeling God's comfort, praise Him for the extra measures He takes on our behalf.
"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself" 2 Timothy 2:13
How does God demonstrate faithfulness when we are too fearful to receive it? He extends His Hand through others, usually other believers. When one is down, another will rise up. We can comfort eachother and show the fallen one the longing of God. When a group is together and with God, His Spirit is there with Him, and it is the Spirit of Jesus that looks after the sheep and ensures their well-being as a whole. God will always apportion enough belief to protect all.
Two are better than one, and a cord of three is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). When working for the Lord, two have a better return for their labors than one alone. When He is there with them, the enemy has a harder time getting a stronghold. This is how believers can comfort eachother. When together, the stronger members can support the weaker ones. God will always raise one up on behalf of another, and the faith of the body can be ensured. He will not disown Jesus's bride; He cannot disown Himself.
Note that each part of the body requires support. We need to humbly accept help, and in doing so, allow God to work through another believer. There are times that the parts that appear more important may be going through a trial or losing faith, and the "lesser" members of His body need to rise up and comfort. Those more prominent within the body of Christ cannot discount those who are not in the limelight. One day these stronger members will no longer have "no need" for supporting members (1 Corinthians 12:23). Everybody has a trial or persecution from which they cannot escape alone, and everyone, at some point, will have to take on the humbling aspects of really, truly needing help. On the contrary, God gives honorable tasks to the humble, and raises up those who were once considered lesser and foolish.
Vanessa and I were taught about our own falls, and God's faithfulness to rise up, from our beginning together. He is the third part of the cord mentioned in Ecclesiastes--actually, He is the entire cord, the entire lifeline, and He has brought us into Himself. So, we learned that between the two of us, God keeps a minimum level of cumulative faith. Whenever one of us is down, the other is always very uplifted and in the Spirit, and vice versa. God allows a downswing in my faith, but keeps me going by raising up my counterpart's. With Him as our lifeline, we can stay equally yoked, as He decides when to shift the burdens to the one who can carry them. It's kind of like a seesaw--if Vanessa is falling, you can be sure that God will equip me with an upswing. He will faithfully give the comforter the right Spirit and the right words to sustain the weary (Isaiah 50:4).
This same pattern can be seen in larger groups, too. There is a cumulative effect of upliftment among believers. When one is down, more than one other becomes raised up by God for the task at hand, which is then the comfort of the one who is oppressed. Even through Satan's oppression, God gets the victory. God allows one of many to wander or stumble, and He then sends in a larger portion of love to the other members present. The enemy's plans backfire on him! The "seesaw effect" where God gives power of encouragement to the comforter is magnified in larger groups. The bigger a group of believers, the more obvious it becomes that God really triumphs over evil.
Let's comfort each other through trials. Let's become filled up, so we can be moved with compassion and bring life to those on the downswing. And when we stumble, we can be sure we won't fall (Psalms 37:24). Instead, we can humble ourselves, confess our doubts, and be healed as God provides upliftment to others, who then demonstrate His love to us. We can bear the burdens of others until we do everything of one accord.
"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
Often God does try to comfort us, but our fear and sin block Him out. Fear is sin, and sin separates us from God. If we get to a point where we are not feeling God's comfort, praise Him for the extra measures He takes on our behalf.
"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself" 2 Timothy 2:13
How does God demonstrate faithfulness when we are too fearful to receive it? He extends His Hand through others, usually other believers. When one is down, another will rise up. We can comfort eachother and show the fallen one the longing of God. When a group is together and with God, His Spirit is there with Him, and it is the Spirit of Jesus that looks after the sheep and ensures their well-being as a whole. God will always apportion enough belief to protect all.
Two are better than one, and a cord of three is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12). When working for the Lord, two have a better return for their labors than one alone. When He is there with them, the enemy has a harder time getting a stronghold. This is how believers can comfort eachother. When together, the stronger members can support the weaker ones. God will always raise one up on behalf of another, and the faith of the body can be ensured. He will not disown Jesus's bride; He cannot disown Himself.
Note that each part of the body requires support. We need to humbly accept help, and in doing so, allow God to work through another believer. There are times that the parts that appear more important may be going through a trial or losing faith, and the "lesser" members of His body need to rise up and comfort. Those more prominent within the body of Christ cannot discount those who are not in the limelight. One day these stronger members will no longer have "no need" for supporting members (1 Corinthians 12:23). Everybody has a trial or persecution from which they cannot escape alone, and everyone, at some point, will have to take on the humbling aspects of really, truly needing help. On the contrary, God gives honorable tasks to the humble, and raises up those who were once considered lesser and foolish.
Vanessa and I were taught about our own falls, and God's faithfulness to rise up, from our beginning together. He is the third part of the cord mentioned in Ecclesiastes--actually, He is the entire cord, the entire lifeline, and He has brought us into Himself. So, we learned that between the two of us, God keeps a minimum level of cumulative faith. Whenever one of us is down, the other is always very uplifted and in the Spirit, and vice versa. God allows a downswing in my faith, but keeps me going by raising up my counterpart's. With Him as our lifeline, we can stay equally yoked, as He decides when to shift the burdens to the one who can carry them. It's kind of like a seesaw--if Vanessa is falling, you can be sure that God will equip me with an upswing. He will faithfully give the comforter the right Spirit and the right words to sustain the weary (Isaiah 50:4).
This same pattern can be seen in larger groups, too. There is a cumulative effect of upliftment among believers. When one is down, more than one other becomes raised up by God for the task at hand, which is then the comfort of the one who is oppressed. Even through Satan's oppression, God gets the victory. God allows one of many to wander or stumble, and He then sends in a larger portion of love to the other members present. The enemy's plans backfire on him! The "seesaw effect" where God gives power of encouragement to the comforter is magnified in larger groups. The bigger a group of believers, the more obvious it becomes that God really triumphs over evil.
Let's comfort each other through trials. Let's become filled up, so we can be moved with compassion and bring life to those on the downswing. And when we stumble, we can be sure we won't fall (Psalms 37:24). Instead, we can humble ourselves, confess our doubts, and be healed as God provides upliftment to others, who then demonstrate His love to us. We can bear the burdens of others until we do everything of one accord.
"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
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