God is Comforting

Watching the videos of the earthquake and the tsunami in Sendai, Japan, yesterday were shocking.  Literally, shocking.  To watch people (in or out of buildings and apartments) as their earth shook beneath them!  To watch a massive tsunami wash completely over farmlands, buildings, highways!  It was almost unbelievable to watch, and I cannot imagine the feelings of those who experienced it firsthand.

How do we wrestle with God’s providence when we hear or see of something so horrific? Can God comfort those who are affected by this?  Let’s look at God’s Word, the Bible, to find answers;

1.    II Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.”

2.    II Corinthians 1:6 “If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer.”

3.    Psalm 23:4 “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.”

4.    Hebrews 4:15  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

5.    Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

6.    Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

7.    II Corinthians 1:4 "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.”

8.   Psalm 34:18 "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

     

      
The answer to the question, “Can God comfort those who are devastated in Sendai, Japan?” is a resounding “Yes!”  God can offer comfort and help now.  How?  God offers comfort through the strength of search and rescue workers, through the tireless help of willing volunteers who band together to offer housing, food, shelter to those affected by the earthquake. God offers comfort by directly speaking to the hearts and minds of the suffering, saying, “I am with you now. I will help you now. Trust in Me.”

God longs for us to know Him and His ways. God longs to comfort people. God is already there.




 

In the midst of all the death and destruction left in the wake of the 30-foot wall of water that ravaged northern Japan Friday, there was at least one piece of good news. A boat swept away in the tsunami caused by the 8.9 magnitude quake and feared lost at sea has been found with all aboard alive, Jiji Press reported.

 Trusting in Him,
Susie