Time Out! Devotions

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (NIV)

The God of All Comfort

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. ⁶If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Look up “comfort” in dictionary.com or another reference, and you will read a definition like this: “Something that promotes a state of ease or provides freedom from pain and anxiety.” But God’s Word has a different solution when consolation is needed: the indwelling Holy Spirit. In Greek, He is called parakletos, which means “he who stands at one’s side; he who comes to one’s aid.” Believers don’t have to seek outward remedies or distractions to ease their mind, because help is available within.

Even before the Spirit was sent to indwell believers (John 14:26; Ephesians 3:16), Scripture identified God as the one who comforts His people (Isaiah 40:1; 49:13). The Lord personally provides consolation and reassurance because no one knows our hurts the way He does.

I like this anonymous quotation: “When we have gone into the furnace of affliction, His hand is on the thermostat and His eye is on the clock.” God lets us pass through hardship to make us stronger believers, wiser servants, and more humble people. But He stays right by our side through the entire experience, sustaining us and limiting the intensity and duration of our distress. The Holy Spirit’s reassuring whisper to our heart gives more comfort than the solace of family or the encouragement of friends.

People who fail to understand the true source of comfort try to escape their pain. They seek out pleasures, material wealth, or drugs and alcohol to soothe their heart. Only God can offer lasting relief from the crushing pressure of heartache. He even brings joy into periods of mourning.

(by Dr. Charles Stanley from In Touch Ministries)

What Is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1-2 (NCV)

¹ Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. ² Faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past.

Romans 10:17 (NCV)

¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing the Good News, and people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.

Galatians 5:6 (NCV)

⁶ The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.

1 John 5:4 (NCV)

⁴ Everyone who is a child of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world—our faith.

John 6:28-29 (NCV)

²⁸ The people asked Jesus, “What are the things God wants us to do?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.”

Psalm 118:8 (NCV)

⁸ It is better to trust the Lord than to trust people.

Hebrews 11:6 (NCV)

⁶ Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.

Luke 17:5 (NCV)

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Give us more faith!”

Hebrews 6:12 (NCV)

¹² We do not want you to become lazy. Be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised.

James 1:5-6 (NCV)

⁵ But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you. ⁶ But when you ask God, you must believe and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind.

Psalm 37:3, 5, 7 (NCV)

³ Trust the Lord and do good. Live in the land and feed on truth. ⁵ Depend on the Lord; trust him, and he will take care of you. ⁷ Wait and trust the Lord. Don’t be upset when others get rich or when someone else’s plans succeed.

Psalm 55:22 (NCV)

²² Give your worries to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will never let good people down.

Psalm 62:8 (NCV)

⁸ People, trust God all the time. Tell him all your problems, because God is our protection.

Isaiah 43:1-2 (NCV)

¹ Now this is what the Lord says. He created you, people of Jacob; he formed you, people of Israel. He says, “Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you. I have called you by name, and you are mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross rivers, you will not drown. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will the flames hurt you.

Isaiah 41:13 (NCV)

¹³ I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, and I tell you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’

Proverbs 3:5 (NCV)

⁵ Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding.

Isaiah 50:10 (NCV)

¹⁰ Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? That person may walk in the dark and have no light. Then let him trust in the Lord and yet depend on his God.

(by Joan Wester Anderson)

Marie Vincze was driving on a lonely ten-mile stretch of red clay road to drop off her teenage daughter at a wilderness camp.  It was hard enough to keep the car on the slippery mud and not end up in a ditch, but her three young boys were bouncing around in the back seat, and the noise was deafening.  “Pray,” she heard the word in her heart just as the car slid off the road and came to a stop, its wheels stuck in the clay.

“Oh, no!”  Marie opened her door and realized that the mud was almost up to the floorboard.  There was no way they were going to get out of here without help.

“I could have panicked, but I decided to have faith instead,” Marie says.  She turned to the three boys, now completely silent, and said, “Sing your Sunday School songs—right now!—and don’t stop until I tell you to, no matter what!”  Beside her, her daughter rolled her eyes.  This girl believed in nothing at the moment, unless she could see and hear it.  But right now, Marie had to pray.

“God,” she began, “please remember Psalm 91 and let the angels bear us up.  If I ever needed help, it’s now!”  The boys continued to sing, and Marie felt peace spreading over all of them, warming their souls.  Very slowly the back of her small car lifted. Marie did not ask questions—she gassed the car and somehow drove out of the ditch.  The boys cheered.

“Boys, look back and see what an angel looks like!” Marie cried in delight.
“Momma, we can’t see anything,” the oldest told her.
“Well, it’s enough that he is here for us,” Marie pointed out.
“Oh, Momma…” her skeptical daughter started, but Marie interrupted.
“Don’t say anything negative. Just sit there and observe.”

The boys continued to sing, as they traveled on.  Marie was still praying.  “Lord, I hate to bother you, but there’s a cement road coming up. It goes over a creek, and the embankment is red clay.  It drops off on each side, and I’m a little worried….” Fear gripped her for a moment as they approached the trouble spot.  “Sing louder, boys!” she told them.

Taking a deep breath, Marie sped down the crossing, gunned the engine, shot up the embankment…and lost control of the car.  “We started to tip over the embankment,” she says, “and then I heard a gentle tap on the car, and it moved into the center of the road,” Marie says.  “It veered to another drop on the opposite side, and again it was tapped, and it straightened up.”

Again the boys cheered, and Marie gave thanks as she made it across.  She wondered how her non-believing daughter was handling this wonderful occurrence, but there would be time to talk about it all later.

In just a few minutes, the car pulled safely into the camp parking lot, and Marie sighed with relief and opened her door.  The mud, she noticed, had seeped all the way inside to her floorboards.  Well, mud was easily removed.  She got out, went around to the trunk and stopped in astonishment, as the children gathered around her.  “Mom, look!” one of the boys pointed in awe.  There on the back of the muddy car window was a large man’s handprint.

“God does indeed give us a hand in our daily lives,” Marie says, “and thank God for guardian angels.”

Know a Mom who needs to laugh? Check “Moms Go Where Angels Fear to Tread” on the website: http://joanwanderson.com

Copyright 2009 by Joan Wester Anderson. Published by Joan Wester Anderson, P.O. Box 127, Prospect Heights, IL 60070. For more stories of God’s love, check the blog at http://www.joanwanderson.com.

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Mark 11:24 (NIV)

“Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

John 15:7 (NIV)

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

Revelation 1:17-18 (NIV)

Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

Isaiah 54:13-14 (NIV)

All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace. In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you.

Proverbs 16:9 (NIV)

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Isaiah 58:11 (NIV)

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.

Exodus 14:13 (NIV)

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.

Romans 8:14-15 (NIV)

Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

2 Samuel 22:2-3 (NIV)

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior.

Romans 5:3-5 (NIV)

We rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; and character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

2 Peter 1:3 (NIV)

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Acts 7:54-60 (NIV)

⁵⁴When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

⁵⁷At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

⁵⁹While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

I wonder if thoughts of Stephen’s murder entered Paul’s mind while he was defending himself before the Roman tribunal. Although the apostle’s friends, disciples, and converts had not come to support him, he didn’t want the Lord to discipline any of them (2 Timothy 4:16). Paul offered a “cover” of forgiveness, just as Stephen forgave all of the men who were involved in stoning him to death.

Believers need to realize that forgiveness is the right response when others cause hurt. Grace is not only the Lord’s mercy towards us; it is also His mercy flowing through us. Holding a grudge does not fit the new, Spirit-filled person we became at salvation. Furthermore, Jesus Christ paid the sin-debt of those who harm us, even if they never accept His free gift of grace. Pardoning others is an aspect of growing more Christ-like.

No one claims that forgiving an offense is easy to do. Some people visit such terrible evil on others that they seem undeserving of clemency. However, God knows—and believers must understand—that offering mercy is far better for the wronged person than living with the alternatives: bitterness, revenge, and anger gnaw at the spirit until they consume good will, good health, and clear thinking.

The Holy Spirit will never fail to help us forgive. He gently draws out our hurt, betrayal, and anger—and then refills our heart with mercy. Only when we are fully yielded to Him can we say with Stephen, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60).

(by Dr. Charles Stanley from the December 2009 issue of In Touch devotional magazine.)