COMFORT

Friends, we go to great lengths to make ourselves comfortable. From how we arrange our furniture to how we make our bed, we desire comfort. From the clothes we wear and the food we eat, much of our life involves striving for comfort. Whether we are in ministry, the marketplace, or political leaders, we serve our stakeholders by helping them have greater comfort.


This idea of comfort is as old as Adam and Eve. The Garden of Eden was the epitome of comfort on earth. There was no better place to be, where every need was met, nothing was lacking, and no greater comfort could be found. And yet, we wanted more.


MORE
I don’t know about you, but “more” gets me into the kind of trouble that Eve got into. More leads me to fall like Adam fell. Striving for more comfort, which can be seen as the root cause of the fall, can also be seen as a lack of contentment with where we are and what we have.
What I really want more of is Christ’s comfort, found in deep intimacy with Him. All the other forms of worldly comfort are only cheap imitations of God’s comfort that can only be found in Him.


GOD’S COMFORT
In my quiet time today, I read in 2 Corinthians. As I was thinking about a topic for today’s blog, I kept coming back to this theme of comfort. The Apostle Paul opens his letter with a paragraph replete with this concept.


Consider this: “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. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 NIV


God’s comfort is the only true and lasting comfort there is.


PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS
To the degree that we expect our comfort to come from people, places, and things is the degree to which we will be disappointed. To the degree we go against God’s commands in search of greater comfort, is the degree of separation we will feel between us and Christ Jesus. Only God’s comfort will truly comfort us.


LESS
In conclusion, let’s aspire to want less from people, places, and things, and want more of Christ. The comfort we get from anything other than Christ is fleeting. It may solve our discomfort for the moment, but it will not last. Just like the wonderful bar of chocolate I ate last night, it was comforting as I savored it, delicious bite by delicious bite. But in the end, as I swallowed the last morsel, I was left wanting more. I was not satisfied. It was momentary comfort that only solved my desires but for a few moments.


May we seek less comfort from people, places, and things, and may we gain enduring comfort in our relationship with Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
​

Your aspiring servant, Daniel M. 
December 26, 2023
POSTSCRIPT: Dear friends, if this daily, transparent “Conversations with Christ” blesses you, please go to www.SOLIDpastors.org, where you will find these posted, and a repository of all, in English and Spanish. If you ever want to chat, you can reach me at [email protected]. May Christ bless you richly as you have your own intimate, daily conversations with Christ.