IN TOUCH DAILY DEVOTIONAL 10 JUNE 2024 BY DR. CHARLES STANLEY, MONDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: Together In Comfort
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: 1 John 4:19-21
What advantage is there to living in unity? Paul suggests one benefit is the “comfort from love” that we find in Christ (Phil. 2:1 ESV). Comfort, we understand—the modern world prizes it above most things. But while the world has made this desire the goal of an endless pursuit, Paul teaches that God’s love provides it.
The Lord describes Himself as “merciful and compassionate” (Ps. 145:8 NLT). That’s why, as the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, Moses could tell them, “The Lord your God loves you” (Deuteronomy 23:5). And when those same people went into exile and captivity again, God reminded them through Jeremiah, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). Then in the New Testament, Jesus told Nicodemus that God’s rescue plan is based on His love (John 3:16). In short, we experience comfort because God loved us, even before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
God’s love consoles us and comforts us individually. But His love also makes it possible for us to care for others. “We love,” John writes, “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We can know the greatest unity—and the deep connection with others that we long for—when we live out of the comfort we experience in knowing the Father.
Bible in One Year: Job 39-42
Thought for Today: Because of God’s unwavering love, we are fully equipped to care for others.
For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.