Series: From Pastor’s Desk
Number: Vol. 14, No. 7
Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. I am pleased to welcome you to another week of the month of June 2025. My prayer is that you will receive full comfort of the Spirit of God wherever you are hurting or downcast in your life. Amen.
Now one of the ways God comforts us in our moments of trials or challenges is by sending people to do things for us that will comfort us. For instance, Paul says this to the Corinthians about how God comforted them when they were in Macedonia: “For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn — conflicts on the outside, fears within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus.” (2Cor 7:5-6NIV)
Did you see that? Paul was very clear about the fact that things were not easy for him and his companions at all when they were preaching the gospel in Macedonia. They were harassed and troubled everywhere they turned. That means they were always on the edge of trouble. So, fear was not far from them at all.How, then, did God take care of them during that period, so that they did not lose their mind and give up? It was by sending Titus, another ministry companion of theirs, to them. And what did Titus do when he came to them? Paul does not say in the account. But he does tell us that God comforted them through the coming of the man.
So, though they had been downcast before he came, they were comforted and refreshed in their spirits by his coming.In like manner, God can send people into our lives to comfort and lift us up in our trials. But are we going to recognise them? If Paul had not recognised Titus as the comforter sent by God to comfort and lift them up in Macedonia, would he not have missed his comfort? He would have missed it.
Yes, he and the others may have been praying to God for comfort from all their trials at the time. But if they had not recognised the one sent by God to comfort them, if they had simply seen his coming as an unnecessary burden, they would have missed the answer to their prayer.So, it is one thing for God to send us comforters in answer to our prayers; it is another thing to recognise them and allow them to comfort us. One of the reasons many of God’s people don’t enjoy comfort in their lives as they should is that they don’t recognise the people He has sent to comfort them.
Why? One main reason is that these people have their own weaknesses as well. Therefore, they can have behaviour that will irritate or anger or mislead others. And if we focus only on those wrong things in their lives, we may end up ignoring, abusing or even corrupting them and miss the comfort God has sent them to give to us.All of this is why we should learn to pray that God will always enable us to recognise those He is sending to our lives to comfort and lift us up, so that we will relate to them appropriately and fully enjoy their comfort. And may you be strengthened to daily take this seriously, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Have a splendid week.
Copyright © 2025, Reality Desk, a ministry of Alaythia Bible Church –This material is the sole property of Reality Desk. It may be copied for personal non-commercial use only in its entirety free of charge. All copies must contain this copyright notice. Please direct any questions you may have to pastor@abcministryng.com or call: 08037592851 (WhatsApp Number: 08146472876)