God of Comfort
We all go through seasons of suffering and trial right? But have you ever felt like God isn’t there for you when you need Him most? I have always heard people say that God comforts us in times of trouble but I never really knew what that meant. It’s taken me a long time to realize what God’s comfort feels like when in a season of suffering. The Bible actually gives us a picture of what God’s comfort is.
…God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
-2 Corinthians 1:3-5
This passage tells us that God is the source of all comfort but at first glance it doesn’t seem to explain how God comforts. So I decided to focus on the actual word “comfort” used. I like to look up words in the Greek lexicon as the original translation can show us a deeper meaning of the word. The Greek word used for comfort in this verse is “parakaleo” which is comprised of the Greek words “para” and “kaleo.”
What is interesting about this are the individual definitions of each of these words. Greek word for Comfort— Parakaleo: “Para”- Meaning to be close to, beside & “Kaleo”- Meaning to personally make a call I love this word so much because it sums up how God comforts in the midst of suffering. There’s 2 main points I want to focus on.
God is Close to You
Para means to be close to. God is close to you and second being that He is personally making calls/advocating on your behalf. I’ll try to explain these both in depth. God Is Close To You Para is the Greek word meaning to be close. One of the greatest lies we can believe is that God has abandoned us during our seasons of suffering. I use to think that the times in life where everything was seemingly good was evidence of God being with me but that’s not true at all. God never said that we would be exempt from pain or suffering, but He did said that He would be with us through it all. Remember that God is omnipresent, He is everywhere all the time.
He Advocates for You
Kaleo means to personally make a call on someone’s behalf. I absolutely love that this is the second part of the word that portrays the comfort of God. He is our advocate, personally making calls on our behalf during seasons of suffering. It’s almost like Jesus is our lawyer in the courtroom of our sufferings. When the enemy is attacking us, Jesus is defending and fighting for us. And let me tell you, Jesus is the best lawyer. He knows the beginning and the end, He has seen the trial play out until the end. He knows the provision through the problem, He’s seen the promises within the pain. We can trust and know that He works all things for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).
God Fights For You
So often we think we’re alone and we try to advocate for ourselves in a weakened state, we start failing because we either don’t know the truth of God in the situation or haven’t seen a fulfilled promise from God in the situation. But remember that God knows the full situation. He already has full vision of how this trial is going to play out. We can put our trust in Him, even when we can’t see our own way out. It was so freeing to me when God revealed that I don’t have to rely on myself to get through a season of trial. Because I’m not limited with how strong I am or feel, I’m actually as strong as God is because He’s the one fighting for me. Now struggles don’t depend on my abilities and they actually rely on God’s abilities. And let me tell you, God is able! The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. - Exodus 14:14
If you are under suffering and afflicted it’s for your “parakaleo.” It is for God to come right beside you, up close and personal, to comfort, console and encourage you. Suffering and being under suffering is never about God leaving you, it’s actually about Him drawing closer to you than ever before. It’s about Him being your legal advocate to the Father and calling upon the heavens on behalf of your defense. God did not say He would remove all suffering from the world. However He will take that suffering and instead of having us fight it alone, He fills it with His presence. So next time when you find yourself in a season of suffering, you’re feeling weak or susceptible to the attacks of the enemy remember you’re not alone. Remember that you have the greatest advocate— Jesus, fighting on your behalf. I hope that’s a sweet reminder to you that God is never far from you, especially when you need it the most. Below I have linked a video of me talking about this subject, feel free to comment & subscribe!