By Pastor Bruce K. Oyen
Those who know little or nothing about the Bible's contents might be surprised to learn that it is a Book of comfort and hope. While it speaks about many subjects, comfort and hope are two of its common themes.
But first, it must be stated that the Bible does not offer comfort and hope to everyone. Instead, comfort and hope are offered to those individuals who acknowledge their own sinfulness before God, who is sinless. The Bible says that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." That includes you. It includes me. (See Romans 3:23.) Until we admit this to be true of ourselves, we will not admit of our need of God's forgiveness. And as long as we do not admit this need, we will not find the comfort and hope that comes to those who receive God's forgiveness. This forgiveness is received from God by believing in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says a very important thing in Acts 13:38: "....through this man (Jesus Christ) is preached to you the forgiveness of sins....." Paul's point here is that if we want forgiveness of sins, it will be found only by believing in Jesus Christ.
Comfort and hope come with forgiveness of sins. But, our need of them does not stop there. Like everyone else, Christians can experience great difficulties and heartaches in life. It might be the death of a loved one. It might be prolonged illness. It might be financial disaster. It might be marriage or family problems. It might be something else. But whatever it is, we need comfort and hope to help us cope.
Those who read their Bible discover its wonderful ability to give us these things. This should come as no surprise to us, for some of the Bible's writers make reference to this fact about the Bible. For example, in Romans 15:4 the apostle Paul said, "For whatever things were written before (in the Old Testament portion of the Bible) were written for our learning, that we through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." Right here in one verse, we find comfort and hope linked to the Scriptures.
Another example of the Bible's ability to give us comfort and hope is found in Psalm 119:49 and 50. These two verses say this: "Remember the word to Your servant, upon which you have caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life."
Psalm 23 has brought comfort and hope to countless persons. When they lose their husband, their wife, their son, their daughter, their mother, or their father by death, they turn to this, the beloved Shepherd's Psalm..
First Thessalonians 4:13 - 18 has done the same thing for many Christians as they lay on their deathbeds. I well remember a Christian lady named Tressia, who died many years ago. She was over 100 years old, and lived in a nursing home. She could barely walk, could not see well, and was extremely hard of hearing. She was anxious to die because of her troubles. Whenever I visited her in the nursing home, we would pray together, and I would read her a Scripture passage. She always requested that I read First Thessalonians 4;13 - 18. Why? Because those verses were a constant source of comfort and hope to her in her final days before passing away. She looked forward to dying and having her soul leave her body to go and be with Jesus Christ in heaven.
Yes, the Bible is a Book of comfort and hope! Therefore, read it daily and be encouraged by it. The Book of Psalms, the Gospel of John, Romans chapter 8, and Revelation chapters 21 and 22 are great sources of comfort and hope. The New King James Version is a reliable Bible translation in modern English.
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