God of all Comfort

 

Genesis 24:63, 67

  •  "He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching." (63)

  • "Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother, Sarah, and he married Rebekah. So she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death." (67)

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

  • "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and 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 receive from God."

Today, I want to share a meditation on Isaac, who found comfort through his marriage to Rebekah. It had been about three years since his mother, Sarah, passed away, and the Scripture tells us he was deeply comforted by Rebekah's presence. As a son born to Sarah in her old age, we can only imagine how close their bond was and how profound Isaac’s loneliness must have been after her death. Someone once described the loss of a mother as the feeling of having the very blanket that covered you suddenly stripped away. Isaac, having lost the one who loved him unconditionally, seems to have been submerged in deep sorrow.

Amidst this grief, Isaac did not know exactly how God’s promise to Abraham—to make him into a great nation—would be fulfilled. Yet, he continued to pray as he waited for that fulfillment. Genesis 24:63 tells us that he went out to the field to meditate and pray, and because he was in that place of seeking God, he was the first to see Rebekah approaching.

Recently, a member of our congregation shared the stinging pain and sorrow of losing her husband. Yet, she possesses a beautiful certainty: she believes that just as God is with her, her husband remains with her in her heart, and they will one day reunite in health and happiness.

I find myself praying fervently for all those wrestling with death and loss today—that God would send "encouragers" like Rebekah, angels in human form, to comfort them. Death is not merely the cessation of breath; it is the ultimate experience of loss. How can we compare the sorrow of losing all we once held—relationships, careers, mobility, health, and most of all, our beloved ones?

Lord, please comfort the members of our church who have lost their family members. Comfort those who are preparing to say goodbye to their beloved husbands. Be with those who have lost their health and are suffering in pain. We invite You, the true Comforter of our lives, to dwell with us. Help us, like Isaac, to wait in prayer until that day of restoration comes.


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