Comfort and Discomfort

“… Paul had more than his share of “tribulation.” The root of the Greek word has to do with “pressure” that presses us down. That is, those who endure tribulation are “burdened”… Yet even while enduring all these “pressures,” Paul affirms that he is “comforted.” He refers to comfort four times in two verses [2 Corinthians 1:1-7]. The sense here is that of a combination of profound pity, compassion, encouragement, and consolation…The term “comfort” in English is a good translation of this easing of grief, soothing of sorrow, and solace of sharing.” (Fr. Basil)

“The language of prayer, often expressed in similar terms of self-emptying, is not the language of toxic shame. It is, or should be, the language of voluntary union with the shame-bearing self-emptying of Christ. It is, at its very heart, the balm that heals us from the wounds of our shame. We bear our nakedness – and Christ clothes us in His righteousness…It was through the Cross of shame that He saved us; so, when we bear a little shame for His sake, in order to repent and come to confession, He considers it as a thanksgiving to Him, and in return He gives us the comfort of the “Comforter”.” (Father Stephen Freeman, Archimandrite Zacharias)

“During the Last Supper, Jesus washed His Disciples’ feet. Back then they had dirt roads and paths, they wore sandals, and they did most of their traveling on foot. This would make their feet dirty and very tired. Jesus told His Disciples then and there not to just call Him a Teacher, but to imitate Him; to become teachers themselves by serving others and not by serving themselves…our feet are our point of contact to the ground, to the earth. If we were to walk on dirt roads with sandals, our feet would grow dirty and tired. This is exactly what happens to our existence through our daily earthly interactions. We get emotionally and spiritually dirty and tired. It is unavoidable. It is called ‘having a life.’ By washing away our troubling earthly thoughts, our Spiritual Fathers, brothers and sisters, give comfort to our troubled existence. They wash away the dirt we accumulate through our touch points in this world, thereby our spiritual feet. This is what it is to serve your brothers and sisters in a Christ-like way today. It’s not about impressions, it is about having a heart!” (Bishop Emilianos)

“…we’re simple people, and we need human comfort. Thus, I will repeat this to you again, so we don’t deprive our loved ones of the comfort we could give them. Perhaps we can comfort someone by visiting them, supporting them with a kind word, or expressing sympathy and understanding. You have to show a person that you understand them, and not just say something that the person isn’t ready to accept just then, for example. No matter how spiritual what you say is, if the person doesn’t have the necessary spiritual strength to hear you, it’ll be hard for him to listen to it. He may reject what you say, or even turn away from God, because he’s not ready to hear your spiritual words just then.” (Metropolitan Athanasios)

“There is a story about Rabbi Zusha weeping on his deathbed about how God would judge him. When his disciples tried to comfort the rabbi by comparing him to Moses and Abraham, he said, “When I get to Heaven, I will not be asked, ‘Why weren’t you like Moses, or why weren’t you like Abraham?’ They will ask, ‘Why weren’t you like Zusha?’ ”…Christ never asks us to be someone we are not, but instead to embrace the journey of becoming evermore our true selves in Him.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)

“...the world is not interested in giving, or forgiving, or joy, or peace. It is interested in survival, in making a buck, in comfort and convenience and “security,” and it is above all interested in making sure that you are bound to these same interests, because then the world has got you. You are its slave, mired in the very same futility to which the world itself has been given over ever since the Fall (Romans 8:20).” (Bishop John Michael Botean)

"Huge proportions of humanity live in levels of poverty few of us in the West can even imagine. And yet in our relatively comfortable lives we lose sleep over work and money, we fall into envy at the drop of a hat, millions of us buy lottery tickets imagining a big win would bring us the peace we crave (while we assure ourselves that we’d achieve so much good if we got our hands on it)." (Father Spyridon Baily)

“We don’t get the love we deserve and need, and so, from a very young age, we instinctively try to make our reality as comfortable as possible. Over the course of a lifetime, we manufacture a whole series of pseudo-selves and scripts that give us a sense of identity, meaning, love, and control, and help us live with others and ourselves.” (Kevin Scherer)

“We have become a people oriented around comfort. We expect our religion to be comfortable. Suffering doesn’t make sense to us. And without fasting and other ascetic disciplines, we lose the ability to tell ourselves no to [unhealthy] things our hearts desire.” (Rod Dreher)

“Faith is only slightly concerned with our mind and emotions. Mostly it is a matter of complying, even if we do not understand and entertain doubts, even if we do not especially feel like doing what the Lord asks. Faith definitely entails risks and uncertainty. Nevertheless, trusting and obeying God is the essence of faith… Often, obedience means leaving our place of comfort.” (Dynamis 12/21/2018)

“Throw out of your head the idea that you can, through a comfortable life, become what you must be in Christ…It’s not about being comfortable, it’s about being useful." (St. Theophan the Recluse, Steve Campbell)

"When we live in fear, we never take risks; we live in a timid fashion, refusing to leave our comfort zone, never able to fully trust in God’s care for us… Always remember that, every time you step out of your comfort zone, you step into God’s comfort zone….God tends to choose and use people outside their comfort zones." (Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou, Mark Cahill, Douglas Cecil)

“Faith has been reduced to a comfortable system of beliefs about God instead of an uncomfortable encounter with God." (Michael Yaconelli)

“Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity has…God doesn’t comfort us to make us comfortable, but to make us comforters." (Billy Graham)

“People on this earth generally feel very lonely, even when they are among their closest family members. This is due to our fallen nature….they go to bars and restaurants together and get drunk, smashing glasses and bottles, and they come home with cuts and bruises, but they find no comfort. They look for comfort everywhere, but it cannot be found. But those who are one with the Lord, like the angels, are always at peace and have joy in their hearts. Their peace and joy are unchangeable….You will never have true pleasure or peace or joy or comfort until you have found Christ." (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, D. L. Moody)

“God may be trying to lead you to a place of greater service and usefulness for Him. Don’t let the comfort and security of your present position make you miss God’s plan for you.” (Life Application Study Bible, Genesis 12:2)

“Because some will follow Christ and some won’t, conflict will inevitably arise. As we take up our cross and follow him, our different values, morals, and goals will set us apart from others.Christ calls us to a higher mission than to find comfort and tranquility in this life." (Life Application Study Bible, Matthew 10:34-39)

“Great temptations can come from those who love us and seek to protect us. Be cautious of advice from a friend who says, “Surely God doesn’t want you to face this.” Often our most difficult temptations come from those who are only trying to protect us from discomfort.” (Life Application Study Bible, Matthew 16:22)

“It is quite useless knocking at the door of heaven for earthly comfort. It’s not the sort of comfort they supply there.” (C. S. Lewis)

“In all things, God worked for Paul’s good (Romans 8:28). You can trust God to do the same for you. God may not make you comfortable or secure, but He will provide the opportunity to do His work.” (Life Application Study Bible, Acts 28:17-20)

#SteveCampbell #MarkCahill #DouglasCecil #BillyGraham #ElderThaddeusofVitovnica #DLMoody #CSLewis #BishopJohnMichaelBotean #FatherSpyridonBaily #KevinScherer #RodDreher #Dynamis #LifeApplicationStudyBible #FrBasil #FatherStephenFreeman #ArchimandriteZacharias #BishopEmilianos #MetropolitanAthanasios #FrPhilipLeMasters