Now may our
Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal
comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in
every good work and word. (2 Thess. 2:16-17)
Eternal comfort.
That is what God has given His children in Jesus Christ. It is “everlasting
consolation” (KJV), encouragement sent from heaven to support and strengthen
the saints. We pray often for God to comfort us – to help the hurting, the sick,
the grieving, the suffering – but the reality is, in Christ, He already has, He
already is, and He always will.
This comfort is eternal in its point of origin. God “chose us
in [Christ] before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). Christ as the sacrificial
Lamb “was foreknown before the foundation of the world” (1Pet. 1:20). God’s
works were “finished from the foundation of the world” (Heb. 4:3), though His
redemptive work had yet to be executed in time and space. God’s comfort began
at the beginning. His work comforts us because it was foreknown, predestined,
and prepared.
This comfort is eternal in its nature. Comfort that is
material, earthly, and superficial is deceptive and, in some cases, illusory.
People seek comfort in distraction, food, and friends, but none can address the
substance of our suffering. God’s work in Christ comforts us at our deepest
level by dealing with the source of our discomfort: sin and the curse under
which this world lies (Rom. 8:18-39).
This comfort is eternal in its duration. The comfort
from God found in Christ is available and effective now and will last for
eternity. God does not give His children comfort insufficient for the challenges
yet ahead of us, nor does He give it only to take it back. God’s comfort is
eternal, because His work in Christ is eternal.
God already has,
already is, and always will comfort His people in Christ, but many go on living
as though they are without comfort. Anchor yourself to God’s promises. Trust in
His Son. Hope in His word. His comfort is everlasting. -JME
