The God of All Comfort

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation.
                                 2 Cor. 1:3-4

Of the many ways God is addressed in Scripture, none are more delightful or spiritually enriching than these words of Paul in the opening of his second letter to the Corinthians. It’s as if fragrant anointing oil were pouring forth from his heart as he addresses God as the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

For many, the thought of God is a source of continual anxiety. They view God as impersonal, distant, and exacting; a critical eye scrutinizing their every move. 

This is not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The God Jesus came to reveal is first and foremost the Father of mercies, a great ocean of compassion pouring forth countless streams into our parched and wounded world.

Above all, he is the God of all comfort. Note the word all. As the sun is the source of all light in our solar system, so God is the source of all comfort in our world. And he  is supremely generous in dispensing his comfort. The apostle says God  “comforts us in all our tribulation” (note that word all again).

Who we believe God to be, or the character of the God we believe in, has a great impact on our lives. Let us not hesitate to embrace the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as none other than the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.

Let us fully embrace the God of all comfort.