{"id":113043,"date":"2023-11-20T14:56:54","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T19:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discovergrace.com\/?p=113043"},"modified":"2023-12-06T14:02:01","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:02:01","slug":"comfort-and-joy-good-tidings-for-hard-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discovergrace.com\/comfort-and-joy-good-tidings-for-hard-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Comfort and Joy: Good Tidings for Hard Times"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text]\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-113043-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/discovergrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Comfort-and-Joy_Julie-Hotalen-reading-for-Jeanne-Harrison.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/discovergrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Comfort-and-Joy_Julie-Hotalen-reading-for-Jeanne-Harrison.mp3\">https:\/\/discovergrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Comfort-and-Joy_Julie-Hotalen-reading-for-Jeanne-Harrison.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I think of \u201ccomfort,\u201d I think of the $5 stretchy pants I pulled out of a clearance bin at Old Navy a dozen years ago. These are the pants I apologize for in public \u2013 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d have to get out of the car!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here in the 21st century, \u201ccomfort\u201d means my felt needs are met. I am fed, dressed in stretchy pants, and put to bed. (Sounds pretty great, right?) But when the Bible speaks of comfort, it\u2019s talking about something much more substantial. The word \u201ccomfort\u201d comes from the Latin root, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fortis,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which means <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">strength<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fortify<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 to strengthen against attack.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fortitude<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 courage in the face of pain or adversity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Think <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fortress<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 a stronghold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Comfort is no soft word. It\u2019s mighty, and so are the implications of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"font-family: greycliff-cf;\">Who Is the God of All Comfort?<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Paul writes of the \u201cGod of all comfort\u201d in 2 Corinthians 1:3, he uses the Greek word <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">paraklesis <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for comfort<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This word has<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">four distinct meanings:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A calling near; a summons<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An earnest and humble pleading<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An exhortation or encouragement<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consolation and solace; that which refreshes<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we put all these definitions together, we see a glimpse of the Father\u2019s heart for us. <\/span><b>As surely as this world is full of pain, there is a God who calls us into His presence. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Earnestly and humbly, He invites us to experience true solace in Him. He is not a God who forces. He is a God who pleads: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls\u201d (Matthew 11:28-29).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>Comfort is more than what God does. It is who He is. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s the very essence of His heart. Like a parent overcome by love, He can\u2019t help but stretch out His arms toward a suffering child, even when that child has made a mess of everything.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How Does God Feel About Messed Up People?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This Advent at Grace, we\u2019re studying a non-traditional passage of Scripture. It\u2019s not the birth story of Jesus. It\u2019s the story of a rebellious people on the brink of ruin. They\u2019re called the Israelites, and in Isaiah, they\u2019re warned that they\u2019ll be taken into Babylonian captivity because of their idolatry. For 70 years, they will be enslaved. They will grow old, raise their children, and bury their dead in exile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, suddenly, in Isaiah 40, the narrative shifts: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cComfort, comfort My people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord\u2019s hand double for all her sins\u201d (Isaiah 40:1-2).\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Isaiah prophesies that the era of captivity will not last forever. God will redeem and restore His people. He will come to their rescue as Warrior, and He will lead them home as Shepherd: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSee the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and He rules with a mighty arm \u2026 He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart\u201d (Isaiah 40:10-11).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My mind jumps unbidden to the image of my husband tucking our baby girl into his coat on freezing winter mornings in Kentucky. He loved to strap her to his chest with a long piece of cloth, called a Moby wrap. He would face her outward, pull a hat around her ears, and zip his coat up to her chin. At first glance, passersby wouldn\u2019t even notice her. Then suddenly, they\u2019d see a little face poking out of the middle of his coat and oh, the joy! He could\u2019ve taken her for walks in many different ways \u2013 on his hip or in a stroller \u2013 but no. He wanted to hold her right up against his heart, not for duty, but delight.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>To hold His child against His heart will always be God\u2019s truest instinct, no matter how sinful the child.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In fact, like any good Father, the greater the brokenness, the greater His longing to comfort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>How Do I Find Joy?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nothing magnifies heartache quite like the twinkly tease of yuletide joy. This Christmas, the farther you feel from perfection, the more your opportunity to embrace the real beauty of Advent. For just a moment, erase those images of porcelain place settings and steaming mugs of cocoa. Picture, instead, steaming piles of cow dung. Flies and sweat. A virgin\u2019s agony, a husband\u2019s terror, the tang of blood in the air as a baby wails into the darkness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the world Jesus entered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>And ever since, He has longed to enter yours. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your real world. Your felt pain. Your weakness and longing. Jesus comes with true comfort \u2013 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fortis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 strength in the face of adversity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Looking for a place to celebrate Advent? <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/discovergrace.com\/next\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019d love to meet you!<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Join us for a 4-week Advent series at Grace, called Comfort and Joy: Good Tidings for Hard Times.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":113057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-113043","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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