Editorial by Pastor Malcolm Macqueen
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: Isaiah 40:1-2a
For at least 1,100 years the Christian Church had Bibles without any chapters and verse numbers. But whoever divided Isaiah into chapters did a rather interesting thing, whether it was deliberate or not. They divided the book into 66 chapters, the same number as the books in the Bible. Isaiah, we see, was divided into two distinct parts of 39 chapters and 27 chapters. It just happens that the Old Testament has 39 books and the New Testament 27.
Comfort is a wonderful word to begin this second part of the book of Isaiah in chapter 40. The chapter goes on to prophetically promise that a voice crying in the wilderness would be heard, “to prepare the way of the LORD, to make straight in the desert, a highway for our God and that the glory of the LORD would be revealed.” When people experience comfort, hope and consolation is created in their hearts. The Lord has wonderful ways of comforting His people. Let us look at just four ways the Lord used to comfort the Apostle Paul.
1. Comforted By a Vision. Acts 18:9 AD 49 The Corinth that Paul visited was the most beautiful, modern and industrious city of its size in Greece. In Corinth you could find the cults of the gods of Egypt, Rome and Greece. The temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, stood atop the Acrocorinth, but by Paul’s time it had fallen into ruin. The name “Corinth” had become synonymous with immorality. It was to this city that Paul came around 49AD to preach the gospel of Christ. He experienced great opposition to his message and the scripture indicates he was seriously thinking of leaving Corinth, when the Lord spoke to Paul in a night vision, “Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” Acts 18:9-11 The Lord confirmed:
a) His Purpose: Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace
b) His Presence: For I am with thee,
c) His Protection: and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee:
d) His People: for I have much people in this city. The result of that comforting vision resulted in Paul staying on in Corinth eighteen months and a great Church was established.
2. Comforted By a Truth. II Corinthians 1:8-10 AD 57 The second epistle Paul wrote to
the Corinthian Church was from Philippi, a city of Macedonia. He wanted the
Corinthians to know of the trouble that he and his brethren had experienced in
Asia. He writes, “we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch
that we despaired even of life:” No details are given, but they went
through severe difficulties to the extent that they thought they were going to
die. The Lord ministered a profound truth to Paul “that we should not trust
in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:”:10 The prominent American
author, E.M. Bounds, remarked, “Trust always operates in the present tense. Hope
looks toward the future. Trust looks to the present. Hope expects. Trust
possesses. Trust receives what prayer acquires. So, what prayer needs, at all
times, is abiding and abundant trust.”
3. Comforted By a Brother. II Corinthians 7:5-7 57AD What Paul wrote to Timothy, “what persecutions I endured: but out them all the Lord delivered me.” II Tim.3:11 was so true. The country or the continent may have changed, but the conflict remained the same. He is now in Macedonia and he writes, “ For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.
Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;” Again no details, but sufficient to say they were surrounded by trouble , and had fear in their hearts. Yet Paul goes on to say these words, “But God, Who comforts and encourages and refreshes and cheers the depressed and the sinking, comforted and encouraged and refreshed and cheered us by the arrival of Titus”. II Cor. 7:6 Amp. It’s amazing how our overall demeanour can change if the right person comes at the right time, speaking the right words. Titus was a bearer of good news, telling Paul of the Corinthian believers, “yearning affection, of how sorry you were (for me) and how eagerly you took my part,” II Cor. 7:7 Amp. Proverbs 25:25 proved so true, “As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” Paul was indeed refreshed to be able to fight another day.
4. Comforted By The Angel of God. Acts 27:23 –24 60/61AD Paul was no longer on dry land but now on a ship in the middle of a terrible storm on the Mediterranean. He along with 275 were facing a watery grave and all hope of being saved was gone. An angel of God stood by him in the night and said, “Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.” In the midst of the life threatening storm, three things were confirmed to Paul:
a) PEACE in the midst of the storm:“ Fear not, Paul;
b) Unchanging PURPOSE: “thou must be brought before Caesar”
c) PROTECTION for All: “lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee” The 19th century Scottish minister summed up comfort so well when he said, “In the midst of the awesomeness, a touch comes, and you know it is the right hand of Jesus Christ. You know it is not the hand of restraint, correction, nor chastisement, but the right hand of the Everlasting Father. Whenever His hand is laid upon you, it gives inexpressible peace and comfort, and the sense that “underneath are the everlasting arms,”
May you be comforted today in your trials.
