Friday
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

If ever you find yourself in need of words to write or speak to a graduate, a newlywed couple, new parents, someone starting a new job, or someone bogged down by the drudgery of day-to-day life, today’s passage is perfect.

Paul begins by reminding us about God’s faithfulness and love in the past and present, and then he exhorts us to claim his comfort and strength in the future.

In the NASB, Paul uses the word “comfort” twice in two sentences. There are two insights that can be gleaned from the use of this word:

1. Someone in need of comfort is experiencing discomfort. In Luke 9:23, Jesus commands us “to take up your cross daily and follow” him. Being a Christ-follower guarantees us that we will experience intense stress and even physical pain.

2. True comfort in this world can only be supplied by God. Psalm 46 is a perfect illustration of experiencing peace in the midst of disaster. Through Christ, we can carry on even when things are at their worst.

Make this passage a prayer claiming God’s comfort for any struggle you are experiencing right now, and then do the same for at least one other person in your life experiencing difficulties.