God of All Comfort
Recently a friend of mine, R, went through a period of great distress as she and her significant other were a target of online attacks over several weeks. The attacks were relentless, and seemed to escalate every day. What made it worse was that the attacks were instigated by people whom they knew to be friends. R confided that she was very frightened, to the point of losing her appetite and sleep.
Before I share further, here is some context – R was someone I knew from work, and we gradually nurtured a friendship beyond a professional client-partner relationship. While we often met up for chats, I never thought about sharing my faith with R, an atheist. It just never crossed my mind, and R had never expressed interest in finding out about Christianity.
When the incidents started happening, I was surprised when R reached out to me. She shared that I was the first person she thought of when she needed someone during this dark period. R was someone who came across as fearless and confident. A very gregarious person with many friends. I felt strongly that God must have placed me in her life at this point in time to be a blessing and comfort to her. I was reminded of the times the Lord had comforted me during my distress through the support and counsel of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I recalled the verses from 2 Cor 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
For the first time, I felt compelled to share, with R, that I would be praying for her and her significant other. The Lord also prompted me to send R the following verse: “But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble” Psalm 59:16.
I shared the context behind this verse with R, which seemed to mirror her current experience. It was written by David and inspired by his timely escape from a group of assassins sent by King Saul, who used to be close to David. Despite living in constant danger, David remained confident in the Lord’s love and trusted that God would continue to deliver him. He was “patient in affliction and faithful in prayer”. I told R that I deeply hoped for her to experience the peace of the Lord, which “surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7), and that I would continue to listen to her, pray for her and journey with her. R received my prayers with openness and gratitude, for which I am thankful.
Then one morning, R excitedly texted me to ask if I could take a call. She shared that a “divine intervention” happened – the online attacks came to an abrupt halt because a key mastermind behind the attacks was suddenly arrested for other reasons. This happened right before she and her significant other had to make a painful decision on whether they wanted to file a police report and pursue a litigious route.
Through my conversations with R in the days after, I could sense that she seemed more open to learning about God. I am grateful that the Lord opened a door, and I am reminded that God can use any of us, at any time, to bring someone closer to Him. May the good Lord continue to help us to be sensitive to the urging of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives as we extend our friendship and comfort to others.
By sister Phua Huijia