The God of All Comfort

I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon on my personal Facebook page over the past year or two.  The posts where I share something about my struggles and hardships that I am currently facing get significantly more attention than any other type of post I make.  Now, let me mention here that I’m not one to “count numbers,” as in I don’t keep track of how many “likes” I get on posts.  But the difference in attention on these posts is glaringly obvious.

I can post a funny meme - it will garner some likes and maybe a share or two.  I can post a family picture, and we will get likes and comments.  Inspirational quotes or Bible verses will get a little attention as well.  But I post about something that I or my family is struggling with, and the likes, comments, and even private messages go up two and even three times as much.

I got to thinking about this one day - why is this?  Why do people seem to “enjoy” those posts more than the others?  Why the extra attention?  What makes the difference?  I think I’ve figured out the reason - at least part of it. 

We all like people who are “real.”  We like honest.  We like to know that others have hardships too. 

Not that we are rejoicing that someone else is struggling, but it brings comfort to us to know that we aren’t the only ones who have had a hard day, that we aren’t alone in knowing that life isn’t always a bed of roses.

Whether or not we admit it (or even realize it), we are always comparing ourselves to others.  We see other couples who seem to have it all together and never argue.  We think other families always get along.  We watch that family in church whose children are consistently obedient - they never act up.  We think other people’s homes are always cleaner than ours, that people have a fantastic relationship with their in-laws, that other people are always healthy and never have any medical issues, or others never struggle with finances.  We look around comparing, and, before we know it, we feel completely alone.

So when we see someone openly admit that they are having a rough patch, our ears perk up, and we find ourselves saying, “Yes!  I understand those feelings!  I get it!”  Suddenly, we feel a sense of solidarity with that person.  We feel like someone understands - on a personal level - what we are experiencing or have experienced in the past.  And that’s the key - it’s that “personal” level of camaraderie that grabs our attention and helps us as we work through our own issues. 

You know what?  God knows this about us.  In fact, He made us this way.  He made us to not work in seclusion, but to be together.  He even said in Genesis 2, shortly after He made Adam, that “It is not good for man to be alone.”  He knows that we have a natural longing for community, for a personal understanding, for companionship.

And that, my friends, I believe is why He sent us a PERSONAL Savior to come to earth to save us.

Think about it.  He didn’t HAVE to send Jesus to come here to earth.  He could have saved us in any number of other ways.  But He knew that we were people who craved that personal connection, that we had a deep desire to know that someone understands what we are experiencing.  And so He sent His son, Jesus, to come to earth, to live as a man, to experience hunger, thirst, temptation, rejection, loneliness, exhaustion, physical pain, being misunderstood, betrayal, etc.

Jesus came and lived on this earth just as we are, experiencing what we experience, and then dying and rising again.  And through that, God not only gave the incredible gift of salvation, but He gave us the gift of a personal redeemer - a friend that is “closer than a brother” - who knows and understands, one who has been there and “gets it.”   

When we are going through the trials of life, we have comfort in the knowledge that He understands. 

When we are experiencing loneliness - He knows what that feels like.  When we have been rejected - even by those closest to us and whom we trusted most - He’s been there.  When we are tempted - He was too.  When we are just plain exhausted - He has felt that as well. 

What an amazing gift!  God loves us so much that He gave us exactly what we need, in the exact way that we need it!  He knows we need the personal comfort of someone to understand, and we have that in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  So when you are going through that trial, when you feel alone, when you think no one gets what you are going through, remember that you have Jesus, a personal Savior who truly does understand - on a personal level - all that you experience.

And now I understand why the posts about my struggles get more attention - they are personal.  People connect with them.  So I will continue to post inspiring quotes and Bible verses.  I will keep sharing funny memes.  But I will also keep sharing about my struggles and the trials that I am facing - because I realize that it brings comfort to others and helps them know that they aren’t alone in what they are going through. 

And while I do that, I will be reminded and oh-so-grateful for the personal Savior that God so lovingly sent me, to help comfort me in my hardship. 

He understands it all because He experienced it too.