Comfort For Hurting Hearts (1 John 3:19-24)

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Need: Our pain, sorrow, discomfort, and restlessness can stem from all kinds of sources. Some are more given to depression or affected by the passing winds of an ever changing world. The heart is susceptible to the fray of life because its greatest need and comfort can only be met by God who created it.

Our compulsion is to find solace and reprieve from a great many things. Our comfort items or foods can remind us of simpler times like when mom made our favorite casserole. Places can bring back strong memories of safety and joy. Friends and family can surround us with their presence bringing warmth into our hearts. Each of these things is good on their own, but also insufficient in bringing lasting comfort.

Comfort foods last only a few minutes and when relied upon too heavily can all too easily cause extending waist bands and shrinking lifespans. It’s fine to enjoy a favorite vacation spot or visit home when in our time of need, but these moments are fleeting and have an expiration. Locations are always changing and all too often won’t be like how we remembered them in the good ole days. Our friends and family can bring comfort because of their love and familiarity with us. However, people can often be toxic and be a source of greater anxiety or pain.

Since the fall of Adam we have been under the curse of toil and trouble. Pain in this life isn’t fleeting but lasting. We can often discover that as soon as one trouble ceases another pops up. When you resolve a spending issue with your spouse you discover a drinking issue. A parent might overcome addiction only to find that their child has been lost to it. Your company might have weathered the Great Recession of 2008, but can anyone survive COVID-19?

I’ve quickly discovered in my own life that as the Lord reveals one flaw that by His grace I can overcome it through the Spirit and the help of my friends. But alas, another pops up like a game of whack-a-mole. Knock one down and three more pop up. This is not only my life but yours. We are compelled by our nature to ignore these moles and go to our favorite sources of comfort, both good and bad, in order to mask the pain and trouble. This causes us some significant issues that we can’t ignore, because to do so drives us to depression and self-loathing as we bury ourselves in man made caves of despair rather than building shelters of hope founded in Christ.

We will see today in our text that God comforts the greatest pains in hurting hearts.

MPS: God comforts the greatest pains in hurting hearts.

God promises to comfort your hurting heart. (19)

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;

Our great pain stems from spiritual restlessness, which is why our heart needs reassurance. Our struggles stir within us a sense of doubt and despair that drive us to the comforts of this world.

No amount of food, television, or physical activity can replace what only God provides. These things can numb our pain and distract us from our struggle, but they can never replace the true healing and comfort that can only come from the Lord.

God supplies rest and comfort from pain and restlessness. Jesus declares in the Sermon on the Mount that “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5:3)

God inflicts your heart. (20)

20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 

A well tuned heart will be pricked by God to bring about discomfort and restlessness. The condemnation spoken of here is that which comes from God’s Word saturating our minds and souls so when we encroach upon God’s holiness we are afflicted with distress. 

The inflicted heart is an example of God’s grace and mercy. Why? He is just to condemn, but merciful in saving us. Such is the case with our sin. He does not leave us in an unholy and rebellious state, but one that is incapable of standing the stench of sin and unrighteousness. His infliction upon our hearts is the beginning of our repentance. With repentance comes forgiveness. Forgiveness drives us to awe, wonder, and worship. It brings about a relief that only God can provide. “faith is subverted by the disquiet of an evil conscience.” (John Calvin)

Secrets of the heart can’t be hidden from God. We can imagine our attempts to hide our sin and secrets like a child who throws all of their toys under the bed, hoping that her parents won’t discover the mountain of mess. The mound of despair will be found and can never be hidden from our all-knowing God. 

God comforts your heart through prayer and obedience. (21-22)

21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

A comforted heart stands confidently before God. There’s something about being distracted from pain and suffering that is soothing. Why is that? It’s because even for a moment we forget the distress that comes from the fallenness of this world. We long to be distracted and forget our ills. But once we are no longer distracted our problems remain. We spend hours upon hours and money amounting to a fortune in order to spray perfume over the stench of our inflicted hearts. Instead of distraction we should seek the Lord and the comfort promised by Him. It’s then that our hearts won’t condemn us and we can stand before God knowing that we are His.

How does one receive this confidence? First, The comfort and confidence come from prayer. And second, Comfort and confidence comes through an informed heart lived out in obedience. God promises to give you all that you ask, which assumes your heart and will is in submission to God’s. How might you know that your heart and will is tuned to His? By your obedience to His commands.

God comforts your heart through Christ and love. (23)

 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

Your heart is comforted by your faith in Christ and love for one another. What greater comfort is there than to know Christ and confess Him as your own? 

These things that distract you from pain and suffering are fleeting. No matter how much alcohol you drink you will be sober soon enough. Despite an endless amount of movies and shows on Netflix you will inevitably grow more weary. Filling your stomach full of comfort food feels great in a moment and then shame overwhelms as the sugar rush fades. These things offer you no hope. They offer no salvation. They drain your bank accounts, steal your time, and will leave you as quickly as they came.

Christ will never leave you. In Isaiah the Lord says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” In Matthew Gospel, Jesus says, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” In Romans Pauls assures us that, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Isa. 41:10; Mt. 28:20b; Rom. 8:38-39)

God is always with you. The Son is with us always. He will not leave us and nothing can separate you from Him. Your only source in this life for true comfort is Christ. There is truly life only in Christ. So when you are in pain or worried about your standing before God, let those concerns drive you straight to the cross, which has the same power in redeeming you as it does in comforting you. Share your burdens with God through prayer. I assure you that He is not afraid of your mess.

A comforted heart is the realized blessing of obedience. Obedience to the call of Christ to follow Him. Obedience to confessing Him. Obedience to believe in Him. Obedience in treasuring Him. Obedience in worshipping Him. And Obedience to serving others in His name. This obedience comforts our hearts because it positions us before our holy God who heals us by His presence.

God comforts your heart through the Holy Spirit. (24)

 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. 

Your place in God and comfort given by Him is completed and sealed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit seals our salvation and applies it. The Father ordains, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit applies. But the same is true of our comfort that is promised. The comfort proceeds from the Father, the Son is the source, and the Spirit applies this care and stirs our hearts so that we are made aware of it. There is an endless supply we must simply go to God’s storehouse.

Next Steps

• Expect pain and restlessness
• Remind yourself of God’s sovereignty
• Pray & read God’s Word
• Share the Gospel with yourself
• Serve others in God’s name