I read a story about a man who was about to board an airplane. Because he had never been on an airplane before, he was really nervous and worried. He worked his way through security and eventually got to his terminal. As soon as he got to his terminal, an announcement was made that his flight had been delayed because of bad weather. This only added to his nervousness, as he began to pace around the terminal. During his pacing, he came across a life insurance machine that offered $100,000 in the event of an untimely death aboard his flight. The policy only cost $3. Thinking about his wife and kids and looking at the storm clouds outside, he decided to go ahead and buy the policy. About an hour later, the man went to eat at a Chinese restaurant really close to his terminal. It was a relaxing meal until he opened his fortune cookie. It read, “Your recent investment will pay big dividends.” That didn’t help his anxiety at all!
Do you have worries in life right now? What is causing you to be anxious and stressed? There are so many different factors that cause stress in today’s world. God does not want His people to be burdened by constantly worrying about things that are outside of their control. God knows that worry and anxiety do not help us. As the one who created us, He knows that stress hurts us. We cannot add a single hour to our spans of life by being anxious (Matthew 6:27); in reality, anxiety might only take hours away from our spans of life!
Take just a moment to consider 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “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, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” In these two verses, Paul answers three questions that can help us deal with worry.
Question #1: Who is God? He is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” That is who God is in His nature. When we stand in need of mercy, we must realize that He is the God of mercy. When we stand in need of comfort, we must realize that He is the God of all comfort, not just some.
Question #2: What does God do? He “comforts us in all our tribulation.” In every trial that you go through, God is able to provide comfort. The God of all comfort provides comfort in all of the difficulties that we encounter. When we approach Him in prayer and thanksgiving, making all of our requests known to Him, He grants peace that surpasses all understanding that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
Question #3: When a person is comforted by God, what should they do next? God comforts us so “that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” If we have experienced the comfort of our God, we need to have a willingness to extend that same comfort to other people who are weighed down with stress and worry. There are so many opportunities that we have every day to help and serve people who are hurting. Let’s have open eyes and open hearts as we seek to give to others the comfort that we have been given by God.
Are you worried right now? Do you want to triumph over that? While we need to take advantage of the blessings that God has given us (like counselors or medication), we must also choose to seek the God of all comfort. He will grant peace. When He does, be willing to extend it to others. As Jesus says, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).
-Tyler Alverson
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