You May Not Know How, But You Know Who
Monday, October 5
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NKJV)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Devoción
Sometimes the greatest battle is not what is happening around us. It is the discouragement happening within us. Discouragement has a way of making a temporary season feel permanent. It tells us nothing is changing. Nothing is coming. Nothing good could possibly grow here. C. S. Lewis wrote candidly after tremendous loss about the danger of suffering distorting not only whether we believe in God but what we begin to believe about Him. And maybe that is exactly where the battle is fought: Will I allow what I am walking through to change what I believe about who God is?
Paul doesn't call Him the God of comfort when everything is comfortable. He calls Him “the God of all comfort” while writing about affliction. Because the comfort of God does not simply soothe our hearts. It strengthens us to keep going. It carries the beautiful picture of Someone coming alongside us to strengthen, encourage, and help us continue. God does not always immediately take us out. Sometimes He comes alongside and carries us through.
He is El Roi, the God who sees. He sees the tear nobody else noticed. He sees the prayer you are tired of praying. He sees where you are going. And He doesn't only see you. He sees you through.
Jesus knew we would need this kind of Comforter. In John 16:7, He told His disciples that it was actually to their advantage that He go away because the Helper would come. Jesus would no longer physically walk beside them, but through the Holy Spirit, God would dwell within them. Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). The Comforter isn't only around you. He is within you.
Sometimes the comfort of God comes through the people of God, which is why Scripture calls us to gather, encourage one another daily, and carry the comfort we have received to someone else (Hebrews 3:13; 10:25).
So when discouragement asks, “How is this ever going to work out?” Maybe faith doesn't always need to know how. I don't know how He will work it out, but I can certainly know He will. I don't have to understand the road when I know the One who sees its end.
And when discouragement gets loud, meet it with the Word: “Build yourselves up on your most holy faith” (Jude 20). Build again. Remember again. Believe again. Return to what God has spoken before your circumstances started speaking louder.
And then look ahead. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross “for the joy that was set before Him.” The suffering was real. The cross was real. But so was the joy ahead of Him. And for us who are in Christ, there is joy ahead that we cannot see yet. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
You may not know how. But you know who.
Oración de hoy
Querido Padre Celestial,
Thank You for being the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. When discouragement tries to speak louder than Your promises, help me meet it with Your Word. Remind me that I do not have to know how You will work everything out because I know Who You are. Holy Spirit, my Comforter, strengthen me when I am weary and encourage me when hope feels hard to hold. Thank You for being El Roi, the God who sees me, stays with me, and sees me through. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Aplíquelo hoy mismo
When you don’t know how, return to what you know. Write down one promise from Scripture that speaks to your situation and return to it whenever discouragement begins to speak louder than God’s truth.
Recursos
- If you missed yesterday’s message, “Be Encouraged,” we invite you to take some time to watch it. You may find just the encouragement your heart needs for the season you’re walking through.
- If the holidays feel difficult because of loss, you don’t have to walk through the season alone. Join us for Surviving the Holidays, a special time of encouragement, practical support, and hope. Register here.