The other night after receiving some particularly difficult news, I found myself seeking comfort. I needed somebody or some thing to help me get over this icky feeling I had. I was sad, I was grieving, I was anxious - all the things pretty much. I wanted to meet with friends, but I knew that none of them would be available at that time. I wanted to walk around my neighborhood, but it was pouring rain. I wanted to eat a half gallon of Blue Bell, but I knew that wouldn’t be good for my waistline. Then I remembered that Hallmark Channel was doing Christmas in July. So I found myself binge watching Christmas movies here in the middle of the summer.
(OK, full disclosure here. I probably would’ve been watching this anyway. My love of Hallmark Christmas movies has been well documented.)
As the pandemic first again, I heard news commentators talking one morning about where they were finding comfort in this hard season. Some of them have been listening to a certain genre of music, which no doubt would help. Some had been cooking big meals and had taken up baking. Some had been working out extra hard. I had seen on Facebook that people in other parts of the country had put up Christmas lights to help encourage their neighbors. While all of these are great ideas, I don’t think any of them will have long lasting affects. The only place anyone can find lasting comfort is in Jesus Christ.
One of my all-time favorite passages of scripture is 2 Corinthians 1:3-7:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will also share in the comfort.”
The first thing I notice about this passage is that God is called the God of all comfort. That means comfort comes from him alone. Psalm 94:19 says, “When I am filled with cares, your comfort brings me joy.” This may be where those “tidings of comfort and joy” we sing about at Christmas come from. We are to turn to Jesus when we are seeking comfort in life. Any other source will not do.
God is the source of all comfort, but as we read on in 2 Corinthians, we see that we are supposed to bring comfort after we have been comforted. This comfort we have received is not just for us. It is for us to share. If we have learned anything during a time of grief, loss, anxiety, or the like, we need to pass it on to someone else who may be going through something similar. We don’t keep it to ourselves. Right at this moment, someone may need to know about the comfort you have received from God. Don’t hold it in. You may make more of a difference than you know.
I know many of you want to just skip ahead to Christmas, and Hallmark Christmas movies allow us to do that. But it doesn’t last. The Christmas movies will stop airing pretty soon, and we’ll be back to the reality hot summer weather and a pandemic and all the rest of the crazy going on in the world. The movies’ comfort is fleeting. The comfort we receive from Jesus is enduring and has the potential to affect someone around us. If you need comfort now, go to Jesus who is willing to give it abundantly. If you have experienced tidings of comfort and joy, don’t be stingy with it! Give it away just like you would a Christmas gift. That’s one way to celebrate Christmas in July!
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