June.24.04: Light for the Day - "Comfort" -- Psalm 119:76 May Your unfailing love be my comfort, according to Your promise to your servant. ---------------- Everyone weeps. Even if your tears are not visible to those around you, life on this imperfect earth is bound to break your heart now and then. But you have a Father who loves you deeply. He doesn’t want your heart to remain in shattered pieces. Like a mother who runs to her child’s side the moment she hears a pain-filled cry, God is near, offering tender comfort when you need it most. When your heart is crying out for healing, cry out to God.  He’ll never put you down for being overly emotional or tell you to grow up. Instead, He’ll go to the source of your heartbreak, soothing your soul with peace and perspective.   Allow God to dry your tears with His love. -- Unknown -------------- God does not comfort us to make comfortable,  but to make us comforters.  -- Henry Jowett It will greatly comfort you if you can see God's hand  in both your losses and your crosses.  -- Charles H. Spurgeon No affliction nor temptation, no guilt nor power of sin, no wounded spirit nor terrified conscience, should induce us to despair of help and comfort from God!  -- Andrew Murray -------------- -- Psalm 86:5 You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to You. -- Psalm 94:19 Whenever I am anxious and worried, Your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer (delight my soul.) -- Psalms 23 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. -- 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us.  On Him we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, 11 AS YOU HELPS US BY YOUR PRAYERS. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. (11 He will rescue us because you are helping BY PRAYING for us.   As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people’s prayers for our safety have been answered. )