We call our favorite cozy blankets “comforters”.

We call home-style food that brings thoughts of childhood “comfort food”.

During Advent we sing about “tidings of comfort and joy.”

God knows it’s hard to be us.

He told Isaiah to write it down:

“Comfort, comfort My people.” Isaiah 40:1

He doesn’t repeat words unless He’s trying to drive it home.

People need to hear tender words of comfort.

“Speak tenderly… tell them their sin has been paid for.”

“Shout it out and say, ‘Your God is here!'”

God knows it’s hard to be us.

So He sent the Holy Spirit, with the nickname “The Comforter”.

Unlike a blanket that wears out, and unlike the fleeting satisfaction of a favorite meal, this Comforter settles our spirits and reassures our doubts from the inside.

Who needs a tender word today?

“God does not comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters.”

Dr. John Henry Jowett