TITUS 1:1-3 – Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior.
THEME OF THE DAY. FIVE WORDS OF COMFORT. God’s Word constantly reminds us that He is the God of all comfort. The Psalms proclaim Him as such throughout. Perhaps one of the more familiar places is in “The Shepherd’s Psalm” – The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:1-4 ). As we continue into the Gospels, we see so many times the Lord Jesus demonstrating words and actions of comfort to His fearful and hurting disciples. One wonderful place is in the opening chapter of the Lord’s Upper Room Discourse. He would tell His disciples – “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going” (John 14:1-4). Such wonderful words of comfort for a fearful band of disciples, and a fearful band of us!
As we move further into the New Testament, we continue to find God our comforter. In the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he reminded them of this glorious truth – 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 affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too (2 Corinthians 1:3-5). And then, we arrive at today’s scripture and we encounter five words that prove to us why God is our Comforter and comforts His people. They are nestled into the middle of the verses – “God, who never lies, promised.”
First, we find great comfort in our God because He cannot lie. When He says, “I am the God of all comfort”, we may safely and always cast ourselves upon Him. He won’t lie. He can’t deny Himself. He will be true to His character. When we are faithless and doubting, He is faithful and unchanging. And these bring us great comfort.
Another truth from the fives words of comfort is the God, who never lies, promised. How are we comforted? Promises. We cling to what God has said He would do in His promises to those who trust Him. As Christians, we are people of promises. We place our eternity in the promises of God, and we are to do likewise in this life when we need comfort. God will be true because God promises and He cannot lie.
Five words of comfort – God, who never lies, promised – are words to live a life of confident faith that He will comfort us in all of life’s storms. He must. He will. He promised and He cannot lie. Rest in these truths and enjoy the God of all comfort.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for not only Your promises but Your faithfulness to keep them.”
QUOTE: “When Jesus said, ‘Narrow is the way, few will find it’, it is because the cost is too high to pay for many”