He Who Comforts 8-23-09
The other day I saw a show on the Animal Planet channel about collies. Since no show about collies would be complete without talking about Lassie, the show featured several interviews with Bob Weatherwax, the son of the trainer of the original Lassie. Bob recounted several tales of his experiences with the current Lassie (he took on the job after his father), which included Lassie’s appearances at children’s hospitals and nursing homes. One particular time was particularly poignant; Bob had taken Lassie to a children’s hospital and watched as Lassie gently put his paws on a boy’s chest to kiss him, taking care not to trouble the tubes and sensors. The boy was in the final stages of terminal leukemia and after they had continued on their tour of the facility and were on their way out they were informed that the boy had passed away. Bob recounted how touched he was that this gentle dog could give such comfort in the final moments for that boy.
How important is this comfort? Ask the Make-A-Wish foundation, which has granted over 182,000 wishes to sick children since 1980. Read their stories anytime you feel your heart hardening (but make sure you have a tissue box nearby). Accounts from Civil War and World War I tell of soldiers dying on the battlefield calling out for their mothers. At times when all seems lost and despair threatens to consume us, comfort eases that burden and allows joy and hope to build in the heart. Comfort is more valuable and more important than gold or silver, and is more necessary for life than water or food.
Yet, if this is so, then why are we so bad at it? After all, how many times have you been in the rather awkward position of having someone tell you they are hurting or despondent and you haven’t the slightest clue how to help? I have been there many times, and I have yet to really know what to say. Most people have this same problem, and it has been this way for a long time; consider Job – he has been told all of his great wealth is gone and all of his children are dead, then he is struck with boils all over his body and his wife is telling him to “curse God and die.” And then his friends come to comfort him with slanderous accusations.
When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. (Job 2:11 NIV)
Then Job replied: “I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. (Job 16:1-5 NIV)
Job’s friends brought nothing but more pain and dishonor, at a time when he needed encouragement and relief! What they did was much like going to a terminally ill cancer patient and telling them they shouldn’t have smoked so many cigarettes; as bad as it is for anyone to hear that, imagine if the person with cancer had never touched tobacco in their life! Job had done nothing wrong, had lost everything but his life, and then had friends accusing him of great sin because of course only great sinners had such horrible things happen to them. They would have done better to bring Job a dog and leave him alone!
This need for comfort isn’t just for the physically ill; how many are on their spiritual deathbeds just waiting for a touch of compassion and comfort? Are we “miserable comforters” to them as well? If so, it is something we must get better at – we are supposed to be about our Father’s business.
The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing … Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail. (Isaiah 51:3,6 NIV)
God is the source for comfort in a world that causes us to need it. And God’s people should make it one of their top priorities to learn how to convey God’s comfort to those around us. You do not need eloquence or presence to do this; you need a heart that truly cares for those around you, fueled by the love of God and driven by his Son, Jesus Christ.
-Charles Peterson