Comfort One Another

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 KJV - For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

I was listening to this passage being read aloud on my Bible app the other morning as I was getting ready for work (something I highly recommend doing in order for the Word of God to be soaking into your mind and heart when time doesn’t allow you to sit and study).

As I listened, verse 18 jumped out at me, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” What words? The words of hope. And I thought, am I comforting other believers with these words? Am I encouraging others with the hope found in these verses?

There is so much going on in our world at present that even Christians are finding themselves caught up in a state of fear and anxiety. Despair and discouragement are rife amongst people everywhere and sadly, Christians are not exempt.

Every day it seems, we are bombarded with more and more bad news stories. Frustration abounds, anger is at an all time high, tempers are short and stress overload is a very real thing.

But these verses in 1 Thessalonians tell us to comfort each other. Paul writes to the church of the Thessalonians to help strengthen and encourage and comfort them. But what is it that Paul tells them to comfort each other with? With the hope they have in Christ. The hope they have of the Lord’s return. The blessed assurance that one day their Saviour would come in the clouds to take his people home to meet the Lord.

And that beautiful promise is still a promise for us today. The Bible tells us that the Lord himself will descend from heaven and catch us up with him in the clouds and take us home to be with him forever! PRAISE GOD!

Do you comfort other believers with these words? Do you take the time to encourage those who are struggling with the circumstances they are facing, and remind them of the hope they have of one day being with the Lord? The Bible tells us to.

We, as believers, have the beautiful and blessed assurance that we will be with the Lord one day and our troubles will be over. The struggles we face here on this earth will be finished. The difficult times, the depressing days, the stressful moments, the feelings of despair, the discouragement, the frustration – ALL OF IT! GONE!

Revelation 21:4 KJV - And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Why is it we walk around so downcast? Why do we live in despair?

It’s understandable that the world lives in fear, they don’t have the hope that we do. They don’t have the hope of eternal life and a future with the Lord. But, we as Christians should not be fearful and anxious.

Psalm 42:11 KJV - Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

I love how the Psalmist talks to himself in this verse. He asks himself why he’s feeling so down, but then he talks to himself again, and gives himself a solution to his problem. Hope in God! Wait on God. Be patient. Live in expectation of the Lord’s return and trust him.

Some of us need to have a stern talking to ourselves. We need to shake ourselves out of our misery and loudly and firmly remind ourselves of the hope we have in God.

And then, we need to lovingly, gently and encouragingly, tell our fellow sisters and brothers in the Lord the same thing.

We need to comfort one another with these words:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

So don’t live in fear. Live in faith.

Have faith that God knows all things and controls all things. Have faith that God holds you in the palm of his hand and there is nothing that will be able to pluck you out of his grasp. Not even the dreaded virus!

Nothing that this world throws at you can take away your eternal destination. You are safe in God’s hands and your future is sure.

Romans 8:38-39 KJV - For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Face to face with Christ, my Saviour,
Face to face—what will it be,
When with rapture I behold Him,
Jesus Christ who died for me?

Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!

Only faintly now, I see Him,
With the darkling veil between,
But a blessed day is coming,
When His glory shall be seen.

Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!

What rejoicing in His presence,
When are banished grief and pain;
When the crooked ways are straightened,
And the dark things shall be plain.

Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!

Face to face! O blissful moment!
Face to face—to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ who loves me so.

Face to face I shall behold Him,
Far beyond the starry sky;
Face to face in all His glory,
I shall see Him by and by!