The God of All Comfort

It has been a challenging year of helping relatives with health difficulties ranging from pre-cancer to debilitating mental health challenges.

Through it all God has provided friends, family and strangers to bring wisdom and comfort to each situation.

When a relative was diagnosed with a stage 3 pre-cancerous mole, no one in my family was able to offer anything but prayer – which is important, but can be hollow feeling at times. However, when I let my friends know of our family concern, one friend contacted me letting me know that a family member of hers was brought safely through the same experience several years before.

It was so comforting to know that she truly knew what I was going through. She was able to help me understand the process my relative was going through and how best to be helpful. She also did a great job of checking in and letting me know she was praying. Her prayers did not feel hollow, as God was using her past trials to comfort me.

More recently a family member decided to take medication for some mental health concerns. I was feeling a mixture of happiness and terror as I knew from personal experience that meds can be helpful but are not side-effect free. Again God provided a boatload of supporters – people who had already walked this road. Some were cautionary tales of treatments gone awry. These were helpful as a reminder to proceed with extreme caution.

When I was concerned about which dose my relative should take, God provided a friend using that exact med for the exact same reason with very helpful tales about exactly which dose they find helpful and which they found to be hurtful. It was so amazing how God provided that comfort within minutes of my concern. My friend and I had already planned to get together for a totally unrelated event. God knew.

These mental health concerns had been causing a lot of difficulties for my family member. While attending the graduation ceremony of a group of friends, God brought more inspiration. The graduate chosen to give the student address had recently gone through an almost identical mental health crisis to my relative’s challenge. This person’s message was all about healing, hope and the importance of getting support from family, friends and medical staff. This young adult had made it! My kin could too.

So my encouragement to you is this. When trials come, and they will, don’t isolate yourself. Carefully listen as God nudges you to ask for prayer from trusted family and friends. If He is encouraging you to keep an appointment with a friend, even though you are feeling unsociable due to your worries, He may just have some divine encouragement waiting for you.

I have had to step back from different activities at different times to be there to support my family members. But when God says reach out to or get together with others, listen.

And before you know it, you’ll be the one comforting others with the comfort you have received from God through His people.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4