Thought for Wednesday, 12 July

Psalm 69:20

Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless;

I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.

When I read this chapter of Psalms it never fails to remind me of Jesus. When He was arrested in Gethsemane His disciples ran away, they ones who could have been Jesus’ comforter were too scared of what lay ahead. The person who had comforted more people than we may imagine was left to face a ‘kangaroo’ court on His own except for a disciple who knew the high priest but could say nothing. A lot of the Psalms are like this, drawing a straight line to the life of Jesus.

I wonder how we fare in the comforter mode. Do I talk too much when I try to comfort someone, do you? Too much talk can be a drawback when offering comfort. I am sure a lot of you will have heard the following story,

Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child; the winner was a four-year-old boy. His next door neighbour was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into his gentleman’s yard, climbed into his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbour, the little boy said, "Nothing. I just helped him cry."                (The Story File)

Very often all we need to comfort someone is just to be there. Having somebody by our side can be enough to let us know we are not alone. Nothing can break our spirit so fast as feeling alone against the world.

This is why when Jesus returned to heaven, God tells Him,

‘You are a priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek.’

When Jesus returned to heaven, He knew we would need another comforter, so He asked our heavenly Father to send His holy Spirit as our comforter and our advocate.

We know the comforter is there and when we comfort or advice, we can call on the Spirit and even when we do not know what we need to pray for the Spirit knows and can relay our needs to God in a way we cannot.

 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank you for sending the Spirit so that we need never feel alone. You know us down to the very first cell we ever were. You know all our needs and when we need reassurance that all will be well in Your presence. We know that all around the world people need the comfort of the Holy Spirit as Satan spreads his evil on earth. This seems to be gathering speed, so we ask that You, Lord Jesus, will hear the voice of the Spirit and react for the good of Your followers and those who might become Your followers. Amen