Press the arrow to listen to Christy Nockels sing “Holy Roar” while you read today’s entry.

Scripture
For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:5

Observation
Discouragement should encourage us, because when suffering comes so too God’s comfort overflows. Setbacks should alert us to the coming of God’s uplifting comfort. Just as water seeks the lowest level, so the encouragement of the Lord naturally finds the low place where we may find ourselves. When we are disappointed we should be on the prowl for the hidden sources of God’s comfort.

Look for God’s comfort, not his coddling. The Father’s heart is always moved by our condition but like a wise parent he does not spring to action at our first cry. My son has been kept awake for the last few nights with his crying one year old son. He had been away for a few days and sleep patterns were disturbed. The little boy began crying multiple times in the night. So I gave my son the advice that worked for us decades ago, “When the baby cries, first call out to him and tell him you will soon be there. Let a minute or two lapse and then tend to him. Then progressively over the next few nights take longer and longer to get out of bed for him. Eventually, just call out to him without leaving your room, assuring him that he will be okay. This will teach him how to put himself to sleep.”

Doesn’t the Lord do something similar with us? The Father cares but he doesn’t coddle, he comforts us. In extreme times we want God to front up when and where we would like him to appear. The Lord does come, comfort does overflow, however sometimes it happens in ways we don’t expect. We must look for the comforting presence of Christ in our hardships.

I was watching an Australian survival show, where an Aboriginal bushman was showing a Caucasian adventurer where to find water in the thirsty Outback. While trekking through the scorched earth, the Aboriginal tracker disappeared from camera view and scampered down a rocky cliff. He pulled away a rock to reveal a hidden collection point for rainwater. He scrapped back moist leaves and damp earth. Patiently he waited as the hole in the ground filled with water. The Aborigine knew from experience where the secret water supply was and he knew where to find it.

Application
We should mark our life roadmaps with the places where God is most likely to show up with encouragement. In discouraging times we should camp at those places. Finding this comfort requires the effort of going to church, going to a home group, phoning someone who needs more than I do, doing my devotions, and ending the day with a stocktake of the smallest of encouragements that have come from the Lord. The comfort is all around us, and we are encouraged when we acknowledge it.

All around us is the comfort of the Lord. It may be an unexpected phone call. Perhaps an email comes. Maybe there is an opportunity to be helpful. Comfort can show up in our daily devotional reading. It may arrive in the first flower of spring or the last leaf of autumn. There are many ways that the Lord brings reassurance to us. There is only one catch: we must search for the comfort that surrounds us. The Father sometimes comforts us from a distance. It takes maturity to receive comfort like this. We must still our fretful cries and look for the comfort that abounds around us.

Prayer
Father, today I need not ask you to comfort but I do ask that you’d open my eyes to your comfort. It abounds, so help me to abound with it. Amen.