I recall the 1960s’ Detroit riots. Military tanks were everywhere, and Mother would not allow me to go outside to play. I remember those tanks sitting idly in the playground, which was our play space, messing up fun times with our neighborhood friends. Mother was not comfortable with those tanks in the street. During those Detroit riots, my paternal grandmother’s home was “torched”—set afire. Nana lost everything. All those old wonderful family pictures were gone, those wonderful pieces of family identity that comforted us. In those times of distress, I recall Mother comforting me.
When the “tanks of life” invade your comfort zone, where do you find comfort for your soul? What gives you peace? Scripture declares, “You keep everyone in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because we trust in you God” (Isaiah 26:3). Isaiah chapter 40 decrees to us a new way of embracing comfort, a prophetic call to ethics. God comforts us, and we ought to “Take care of other people! Yes, YOU do it, and I’ll do it through you,” declares the Lord.
“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1-2)
When Israel had been beaten up and tanked by the Assyrians, God used Cyrus of Persia to comfort the people after they had been living in riotous conditions of homelessness, abandonment, and despair. Israel remembered how terrible their condition had become. They cried out to God for relief, yearning deeply to be at home in a place of comfort and security. God rescues them through Cyrus.
Our Heavenly Father calls us to comfort others. Just as a mother watches over her children at play, God watches over us as His Kingdom’s story plays out to the fullest measure. Indeed, rioting did burn down my grandmother’s home. But righteous living builds up our Heavenly Father’s home on earth. We are invited to be comforters for where there is God’s peace, there is comfort.
Let God breathe peace into your life’s story. Scripture speaks to us through family stories and presents to us pictures to remember, new identities and great lessons to be learned. Ultimately, God will comfort His people.