Who Does Not Need Comfort?

AT ONE time or another, we sorely need comfort and encouragement. This is because there are so many things in life that can bring sadness.

Parents may work hard and try to provide well for their children. But as sons and daughters get older, they may become rebellious and cause untold grief and worry for their father and mother.

At his place of employment, a man may become the object of misrepresentation or injustice. Despite his honesty and diligence, he may not be promoted because his conscience does not allow him to play politics. Incompetent persons may even tell him how to do his job. The man may dread going to work, finding it hard to put up with a multitude of irritations.

An active adult may be laid low by a debilitating disease or a crippling accident. No longer can the individual do the things that contributed greatly to his happiness. He may be forced to dull intense pains with powerful drugs.

And who of us has not experienced deep sadness over the death of a close friend or a relative? We may have felt totally helpless, lonely and depressed.

In such situations, where can we turn for comfort? It would indeed be encouraging to find a source that would tell us how others have dealt with these problems successfully and what sustained them during the time of their affliction. The Bible does just that. It provides a candid record regarding what befell certain individuals and how they endured these trials without becoming bitter.

We read of King David, whose son Amnon became guilty of incestuous rape and whose son Absalom became involved in murder and conspiracy for the throne. During his lifetime, David also endured scathing denunciation from his eldest brother, was forced to live as an outlaw for a number of years while being hunted like an animal by jealous King Saul, was repeatedly slandered, had a trusted counselor turn traitor, and became sick and feeble.

Wise King Solomon set forth the following hard facts of life: “The swift do not have the race, nor the mighty ones the battle, nor do the wise also have the food, nor do the understanding ones also have the riches, nor do even those having knowledge have the favor; because time and unforeseen occurrence befall them all.” “I have seen servants on horses but princes walking on the earth just like servants.”​—Eccl. 9:11; 10:7.

Of course, not all men and women who are mentioned in the Bible wrestled with the same problems. However, from the time that Abel’s life was violently cut short by his brother Cain, humans have known what it means to lose a loved one in death. Abraham bewailed the death of his beloved wife Sarah. (Gen. 23:2) When Jacob died, “Joseph threw himself on his father, crying and kissing his face.” (Gen. 50:1, Today’s English Version) David lamented his friend Jonathan’s death with the words: “I am distressed over you, my brother Jonathan, very pleasant you were to me. More wonderful was your love to me than the love from women.”​—2 Sam. 1:26.

Despite bitter experiences and hardships, David, Naomi, Hannah, Abraham, Joseph and many others who are mentioned in the Bible did not become overwhelmed by feelings of sadness. Their confidence in God sustained them.

Comfort in Time of Grief

THE death of a loved one can indeed be the most upsetting experience of a lifetime. A young woman from southern Texas relates: “While I was pregnant with my second child, my husband was killed. This tragic experience led to great depression. Adding to my trauma, my baby was born and died. I lost communication with everyone, including my young son. Also disturbing to me was the fact that, though my son was old enough to talk, he never uttered a word. At the time I was too introverted to realize that, if I never talked to him, he would never learn to express himself.” How desperately this woman needed comfort! Happily, she did receive encouragement when a fellow worker began talking to her about the Holy Scriptures.

Just what hope does the Bible offer to persons who experience the grief that death can bring? The Scriptures make it clear that we have no reason to worry about the dead nor to be overwhelmed by sorrow. This is because, in God’s due time, dead loved ones will be restored to life. “I have hope toward God,” said the Christian apostle Paul, “that there is going to be a resurrection.” (Acts 24:15) Those who are raised to life will have the prospect of never again being subjected to misery, sickness or death. (Rev. 21:3-5) All the sadness experienced by humankind will be so totally offset by the changed conditions that will exist after their resurrection that “the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart.”​—Isa. 65:17.

Because first-century Christians believed in the resurrection, the loss of loved ones was much easier for them to bear. They did not give way to the extreme, unrestrained expressions of sorrow characteristic of persons without any hope. (1 Thess. 4:13) But how can one be sure that there will be a resurrection?

It is noteworthy that the apostle Paul’s hope was based on his faith in God. Since the Almighty is the One who created humankind, he must also have the wisdom and the power to raise the dead, to re-create them. In fact, what the Bible tells us about the creation of the first man Adam can aid us to understand the miracle of the resurrection.

Adam was formed from the elements of the ground. Of course, these elements have no personality and are incapable of conscious activity or thought. However, when God organized these elements into a harmonious body and energized that body with a life-force, a distinct personality came into being​—a man having the ability to think and to reason as well as to transmit life through procreation.​—Gen. 2:7.

Note that what made Adam an individual was not the substance making up his body. Rather, it was what God did to the elements of the ground. Therefore, the resurrection does not depend on the preservation or the reconstruction of the molecules in the individual’s body prior to his death. Even during our lifetime, the molecules making up our bodies constantly undergo change. Thus the molecules making up your body today are completely different from what they were about seven years ago. Nevertheless, you are still the same person. Likewise, whether a person is raised to human or spirit life, his body will carry within it all the God-given characteristics that make him the same individual who died. He will possess the full identity of his former life.​—1 Cor. 15:36-49.

Besides setting forth the hope of a resurrection, the Bible provides the basis for this hope. From the Scriptures we learn that restoring the dead to life is not something new, something that has never happened before. To the contrary, the Bible presents specific cases of men, women and children who were resurrected. (1 Ki. 17:21-23; 2 Ki. 4:32-37; Mark 5:41-43; Luke 7:11-15; John 11:38-45; Acts 9:36-42; 20:9-12) The most outstanding resurrection was that of Jesus Christ. Upward of 500 witnesses saw him after his being raised from the dead. (1 Cor. 15:6) This event was so well established that the apostle Paul could say that denial of the resurrection meant rejection of the Christian faith as a whole. We read: “If, indeed, there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised up. But if Christ has not been raised up, our preaching is certainly in vain, and our faith is in vain. Moreover, we are also found false witnesses of God, because we have borne witness against God that he raised up the Christ, but whom he did not raise up if the dead are really not to be raised up. For if the dead are not to be raised up, neither has Christ been raised up. Further, if Christ has not been raised up, your faith is useless.”​—1 Cor. 15:13-17.

For the apostle Paul and millions of others, unshakable faith in the resurrection of the dead was a source of unfailing comfort. It continues to be such even today. True, some persons may scoff at the thought of a resurrection, saying that they never have seen anyone come back from the dead. But does their unbelief put them in a better position to face death? By denying the historical evidence of past resurrections, what comfort can they offer to the bereaved? When they themselves lose dear relatives or friends in death, does their unbelief aid them to be less sorrowful? The facts speak for themselves.

Hence, in times of mourning, continue to draw comfort from God’s sure promise of a resurrection as set forth in the Bible. There is no other hope. Do not let go of it. Also, find satisfaction in bringing genuine comfort to mourning ones by sharing with them the Bible’s message about the resurrection.

Living with Infirmities

KING DAVID was seriously ill, and his foes were hoping that he would die. While eagerly looking for any sign of deterioration in the state of the king’s health, visitors would hypocritically wish him well. Afterward they would delight in passing on their negative observations to others. “A malignant disease fills his frame,” they would say. “Now that he lies ill, he will not rise again.” Even an intimate friend, the trusted counselor Ahithophel, turned traitor.​—Ps. 41:6-10, The New American Bible.

What helped David to endure this time of terrible affliction? He did not lose hope and yield to crippling fear. His trust in God remained strong, for he declared: “Jehovah himself will sustain [his servant] upon a divan of illness; all his bed you will certainly change during his sickness.” (Ps. 41:3) Finally David did recover from his illness.

But how does the Most High sustain his afflicted servants? By means of his spirit, Jehovah God brings to the mind of the sick one thoughts that are comforting and that strengthen hope. What God does in this respect plays a vital part in recuperation. Hence, David could say that Jehovah changes the afflicted one’s bed, transforming it from a bed of sickness into a bed of recuperation.

It is noteworthy that modern physicians have come to recognize the value of hope in recovery from illness. For example, in his book The Vital Balance, Dr. Karl Menninger writes: “Our present scientific knowledge is not sufficient to recognize or identify or properly credit all the forces working for recovery any more than we know in any case all the forces against which we are working. And this we know: Sometimes hope fails, and death ensues, while sometimes hope endures, and the impossible happens.”

Regarding the hurtful effect of hopelessness and fear, The Encyclopedia Americana states: “The operation of fear on the mind is often, if uncorrected, attended with the most serious consequences, especially where sickness is present or disease threatened. On many persons the influence of fear is far more serious in its effect than the worst form of any dreaded malady. In epidemic diseases the terror they inspire is often as fatal as the infection​—paralyzing the system, and robbing the body of the natural elasticity of its nervous stamina, and the mind of the buoyancy of hope, making victims of those who, from age and strength, had the best probability of escaping. Fear is a mental poison, and the most potent of all antagonists to health and medicine.”

The person with unshakable faith in God and in the promises of his Word is protected against succumbing to such destructive fear. He finds comfort in the fact that any affliction will eventually come to its end. Even if that end proves to be death, he is not overwhelmed by fear, because God’s promise of a resurrection from the dead sustains him. While undergoing the distress, he appeals to Jehovah God for help to endure. And God’s spirit or active force supplies the needed strength. Additionally, the sick one looks forward with confidence to the fulfillment of the Bible’s promise: “[God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”​—Rev. 21:4.

The hope that this grand promise engenders can aid a person to maintain a cheerful outlook in the face of the great distress resulting from sickness or accident. Take the case of 43-year-old Robert who was stricken with terminal cancer of the spine. Doctors told him that he had only about a week to live. But some four months later, despite his serious sickness, he arranged to attend an assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses. While lying on his bed, he was able to listen to a number of the convention sessions. Medical specialists simply could not believe that he could keep his spirits so high. ‘Hope in the new system that Jehovah has promised keeps me going,’ Robert would say. He also persisted in prayer, appealing to the Most High for strength to endure.

The same promise changed the life of Yuko, a young woman in Japan. At the age of 31, she was stricken with Kogenbyo, a disease that hardens the skin, causing the body to stiffen just like a mummy, and brings on a slow death as it spreads. At first her right hand stiffened and the fingers curled up. Since there is no known cure, Yuko became extremely depressed, especially when she thought about the future of her three children. While in the hospital, she became anemic, and the muscles of her mouth and chin became so stiff that she could no longer talk freely. It became necessary to place Yuko on a liquid diet.

But what happened after she began to study the Bible? It brought her great comfort to learn about Jehovah’s new order in which people would not get sick and die. Yuko relates: “For the first time I had found a sure hope. Eventually I came to have a strong desire to express my beliefs to others in a similar condition, so that they, too, could learn to leave all things in Jehovah’s hands. Fearing my anemia, the doctor did not want me to go out and expose myself to the sun. But I felt impelled to share what I had learned. What was the result? I have had no further problems with anemia. My going out to tell others about the Bible gave me a good appetite so that I gained weight. Also, the muscles of my mouth started to move freely. When considering the miraculous improvement in my state of health, the doctor just shakes his head in amazement, not understanding what could bring about such a change.”

A like transformation was experienced by a young man afflicted with multiple sclerosis. Half of his body was paralyzed, and he would spend his time sitting in a wheelchair in a private room of a nursing home. With one hand, he would operate his wheelchair, moving forward and backward, to the right and to the left. Having lost all hope, he was looking forward to dying. After a period of Bible study with one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, this man began to take a greater interest in life. He made attempts to walk by holding onto his furniture. In time he became quite adept in using a walker. Instead of continuing to live in a nursing home, he moved into his own apartment, began preparing his own meals and even cleaned his living quarters. Instead of continuing to look forward to dying, this young man began to look forward to the fulfillment of the Bible’s promise regarding a world without sickness.

Thus down to our very day, the Bible’s message has provided comfort and encouragement to the aged, the infirm and those suffering because of accident or sickness. By learning to lean on Jehovah God for strength and making the hope that he offers their own, these persons have been able to endure great distress. What a fine testimony this is to the Bible’s being a source of unfailing comfort!