I have permission from P31 to share this here.  Hope it blesses you.  ~ Rachel

July 5, 2006

“God of All Comfort”
Rachel Olsen, Co-Editor of Online Devotions, Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/speaker_rachel.htm

Key Verse:
Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (NIV)

Devotion:
Today is my mother’s birthday. A certain day in May, not long after Mother’s Day, is the anniversary of her death.   She died of cancer when I was seventeen.

About five years after her death, I found comfort and blessed assurance in the outstretched arms of Jesus Christ.  He wiped away my tears and filled my heart with hope again.  When I placed my life in His hands, I gained a companion that would stick closer to me than my own older brothers do (Proverbs 18:24).

Following my saving encounter with Jesus Christ, much of my mourning turned into dancing.  However, a new concern arose in my heart.  Once I realized that Jesus Christ is truth personified, and that He said no one can come to Father God in heaven except through Him, I wondered if my mother was in heaven (John 14:6).  I previously assumed anyone who believed God existed and tried to be a good person would go to heaven automatically.  Now I realized that if my mom had not accepted Christ’s forgiveness for her sins, she may not be with him this day in paradise.

Did she? Did my mom know Jesus? This question burned in my heart. She was the only member of my immediate family that showed any interest in going to church, if only occasionally.  Her interest in the things of God definitely increased as she battled the disease.  But did she know the simple requirements for gaining eternal life before death?

A couple years ago a Bible that belonged to my mother came surprisingly into my possession.  Her name was inscribed in the front and inside I found a small sheet of paper with her unmistakable handwriting.  This is what she had written down:

Romans 3:19

Romans 3:12

Romans 3:23

Romans 5:8

II Timothy 3:2-5

Ephesians 2:7-8

Luke 19:10

Hebrews 7:25

Romans 10:13

Romans 10:9-10

I treasure this little piece of paper, knowing it was held in and written on with her living hands. As I read through the verses she wrote, I know that indeed my mother was aware of Jesus, the Savior.  She had heard the good news of how to attain forgiveness and eternal life through Him.  While mere knowledge does not assure salvation was accepted, I’m greatly comforted by this paper and believe that God, in His sweet compassion, brought it into my possession to assure me of my mom’s present whereabouts.

God so desires to comfort His children. In Isaiah 66:13, God says “as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you” (NIV).  I encourage to take your pain to the Father of Compassion and God of all comfort and allow Him to quiet you with His love.  He promises that one day He will surely wipe away our every tear (Rev 21:4).

My prayer for today:
Dear Lord, thank you for caring when we are hurting. Thank you for being an unending source of comfort and strength.   Thank you for sending Jesus to die of a broken heart that my own wounded heart can be healed.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application Steps:
Look up and read through the verses above my mother had written down.  If you don’t have a bible handy, use the search box at www.crosswalk.com.  If you have not yet welcomed Jesus Christ as your savior, click here: http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/knowHim.htm

Lovingly share these verses with friends and family who do not yet know Him.

Reflection points:
Are you in need of comfort?  Have you turned to the author of comfort – Abba Father God?

Receiving comfort from God requires you to humble yourself before Him.

Is there someone God has laid on your heart to comfort, or to witness to?  Have you obeyed?

Power Verses:

2 Corinthians 1:3-5   Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us is all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.  (NIV)

Psalm 147:3 The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (NIV)

Psalm 119:76 May your unfailing love be my comfort, O Lord, according to your promise. (NIV)

Psalm 34:19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delvers him from them all. (NIV)

Additional Resources:

P31 Woman Proverbs 31 Ministries’ monthly magazine

http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/woman.htm

Do you Know Him?

http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/knowHim.htm

Coming Out of the Dark by Mary Southerland

http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/newresources_outDark.htm

PROVERBS 31 MINISTRIES
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Office: (704) 849-2270
www.Proverbs31.org