{{item.title | uppercase}}

In the midst of my sorrow and grief, I have experienced the reality of the promises of God. One that stands out the most is: “I will comfort you!” Scripture tells us that God does not merely hear our prayers of sorrow and move on; He cradles us in His comforting embrace, much like a mother soothes her crying infant.

Think of a child, scared of the dark, seeking refuge in their parents’ room. They ask, “Can I sleep with you?” In response, the parents throw back the blankets, scoop them up, and snuggle them tightly, assuring them that everything will be alright. This is exactly what our heavenly Father does with us. He wraps his arms around us and if we listen closely we can hear Him say, “It’s going to be ok. I am right here.”

Scripture Paints a Vivid Picture of God as Comforter

“He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”
Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)

Oh what comfort there is in God’s arms.

“Blessed are those that mourn: for they will be comforted.” In our moments of grief, God’s promise of comfort is a beacon of hope.
Matthew 5:4 (NIV)

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.”
2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 (NIV)

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

We are not left here to “lick our own wounds”. The Father of compassion and God of all comfort personally will bind up our wounds and heal our broken heart!

“When I said, ‘my foot is slipping’, your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.”
Psalm 94:18-19 (NIV)

These verses vividly illustrate God’s love as a support, a pillar to bear the weight of our struggles and anxieties.

He Is There!

In our weakest moments, when we can barely muster the strength to continue, God is there. When despair threatens to consume us, God is there. Those nights when tears threaten to drown us, and we wonder how long our anguish will persist, He is there.

This is what we can expect in our time of grief – when we are down His love will lift us up!

God Uses Supernatural Ways to Comfort Us

I’d like to share a personal experience where God’s comfort manifested in a way that many would scoff at. It happened about six months after my husband’s passing. I sat on my back patio, troubled by family issues and missing my husband’s calming presence who would promptly tell me it was all going to be ok and it would work itself out. In tears, I told God how much I missed Vic and how I needed him here with me.

It was a beautiful late afternoon day and as I often do, I pulled out my camera to take a few shots of the mountainside. As I looked up at the sky, I noticed two very distinct clouds. These weren’t your usual fluffy pillow-like clouds. No, one cloud was in the shape of a large “V” and a smaller one, a little less formative, but, nonetheless, still clearly a “C”. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I hastily snapped a picture and shared it on social media, captioning it, “All that is missing is the ‘i’.” When I continued walking to the house, I noticed there was a cloud forming an “i” in the sky where the previous two clouds had been.

A Signature in the Sky

I could hardly keep myself from falling to my knees in awe of God. Jokingly, I thought to myself, “God even reads FB posts!” Well, we all know he does more than that! It felt like he was saying, “No, you aren’t stretching this…this was from me.” He gave me the comfort I needed in that moment with Vic’s signature in the sky.

There are countless other stories I could share of how God has comforted me during my grief. Each one would reinforce the promise that in our darkest hours, God is there, cradling us in His comforting arms.

Dear Lord, thank you for being a compassionate, loving and caring Father. Please wrap your arms around my sisters and carry them so close to your heart that they can hear it beating. Comfort as only you can!