October 6, 2014
Are Your Comfort-Able?
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
“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 our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV).
Friend to Friend
A storeowner was tacking a sign in his store window, which read PUPPIES FOR SALE, when a little boy appeared.
“How much are you selling the puppies for?” he asked.
The man told the lad he didn’t expect to let any of them go for less than $50.
The boy reached in his pocket, pulled out some change, looked up at the storeowner and said, “I have two dollars and thirty-seven cents. Can I look at them?”
The storeowner smiled and whistled. From the kennel, a dog named Lady came running down the aisle, followed by five tiny balls of fur. One puppy lagged behind. Immediately, the little boy asked about the limping puppy.
“What’s wrong with that doggie?”
“The veterinarian told us the dog is missing a hip socket,” said the storeowner. “He’ll always limp like that.”
“That’s the one I want to buy,” the lad said quickly.
The storeowner replied, “No, you don’t want to buy that dog. If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you.”
The boy came close to the storeowner’s face and said angrily, “I don’t want you to just give him to me. That doggie is worth just as much as all the other puppies and I’ll pay the full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now and .50 a month until I have him paid for!”
The storeowner replied, “No, no, no. You don’t want that dog. He’s never going to be able to run and jump and play like the other dogs.”
In response, the little boy pulled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted left leg, supported by two steel braces.
“Well, sir,” he said, “I don’t run so well myself and that puppy will need someone who understands.” (Story from Puppies for Sale and Other Inspirational Tales by Dan Clark)
In 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote: “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 our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5 NIV).
God does not comfort us simply to make us comfortable. God comforts us to make us comfort-able…able to comfort other people.
Dear friend, God may very well send someone your way who needs a person who understands. No one can help a woman who is struggling with a wayward teenager like the mother who has welcomed a prodigal home. No one can encourage a woman struggling with depression like the woman who has come out of that same darkness and into the light.
No one can help a woman struggling with marital discord like the woman who has seen her marriage transformed from clanging cymbals of contention to a beautiful symphony of love. No one can help a woman struggling with the pain of a shameful past like the woman who has exchanged her tattered sackcloth for a princess’s robe.
Have you gone through something that makes you comfort-able? If so, I encourage you to encourage someone today.
Let’s Pray
Lord, thank You for being the God of all comfort who has comforted me time and time again. This week, show me someone who needs to know the comfort that You have given me. Help me not be ashamed to tell about the struggles I have had in my own life, but to be an encouragement to someone who needs to know that there is hope.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
I love reading different versions of the Bible. Each one seems to bring out a new truth to ponder. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 below and ask God to reveal a new aspect of His truth.
“All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too” (The Message Paraphrase).
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of sympathy (pity and mercy) and the God [Who is the Source] of every comfort (consolation and encouragement), Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God. For just as Christ’s [own] sufferings fall to our lot [as they overflow upon His disciples, and we share and experience them] abundantly, so through Christ comfort (consolation and encouragement) is also [shared and experienced] abundantly by us (The Amplified Version).
Are you ready to be comfort-able? If so, click over to my Facebook page and leave a comment that says, “I’m ready and willing!”
More from the Girlfriends
Do you long to feel close to God but feel like there’s something missing? That you’ve missed that mysterious formula to make it happen? Do you have a glory ache—a persistent longing to experience God’s presence and working in your life, but you’re not quite sure how to make it happen? If so, my book, A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More, is just for you. Join me in discovering how to erase the lines between the secular and the sacred and experience a deeper more intimate relationship with God than ever before. While you’re there, you can download a free chapter or watch a video book trailer. And for all you praying wives, come on over to The Praying Wives Club for daily encouragement!
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