From the UCC Network - Devotion 10/28 "God of All Comfort"

The God of All Comfort

Excerpt from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

“Praise be to the . . . God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (NIV)

Reflection by Kenneth L. Samuel

The late Reverend E.V. Hill of Los Angeles, CA, confessed that he had a bad habit of driving without checking his gas gauge.   He said that often, he would coast up to the pump on nothing more than prayer and gasoline fumes.  While driving down the LA Freeway late one night, Rev. Hill’s car began to stall.  He looked down and surely enough, his gas gauge indicated that he had driven well below empty.  On this occasion, he had not made it to the pump in time.  It was very late, he was not familiar with the area and at that time neither he nor most other people had a cell phone. 

As he slumped over his steering wheel, kicking himself for his blatant stupidity, a car pulled up behind him.  Two young men hopped out and walked up to his window:  “Are you OK?  Having a problem?” they asked.  Sensing their sincerity, he responded with great embarrassment, “I ran out of gas!”  “No problem,” they responded.  “There’s a 24-hour gas station a few blocks from the next exit.  We’ll go fill up our gas container and be right back.”

About 15 minutes later they returned, poured the gas into Rev. Hill’s tank and gave him directions to the gas station.  He tried to give them some money, but they steadfastly refused.  “Well, who are you?” he asked.  After giving their names, they said, “We’re just a couple of guys who patrol the freeway at night, looking to help people in trouble.”

I think those two guys on the freeway reflect the nature of God in Christ.  Surely Jesus was sent to travel the highways and byways of life, looking for lives in distress.  Our distresses might be brought upon us by circumstances out of our control, or they could be the result of our own negligence.  In any case, what we need initially is someone to help us up and out, not push us down further.   We need comfort, not condemnation.  Blame and responsibility can be assessed later.  But those of us in distress right now can thank God that the Comforter has come.

Prayer

Dear God, I praise you for your present help and comfort in my distress.  Use me as an agent of comfort in the lives of my fellow travelers.  Amen.

About the Author Kenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, United Church of Christ, Stone Mountain, Georgia.