By Pastor Dennis Morales

Pastor Dennis Morales

“But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things,” (John 14:26).

“Comforter” describes the Holy Spirit of God, which means in the original New Testament language “to come to the side of another.” There is something cool about the word “comfort.”  We get the word comfort from two Latin words meaning “con” (in company with) and “fortis” (to strengthen).

We just signed my son, Noah, up for his first organized baseball team.  Along with that comes my responsibility to provide as much encouragement as possible for Noah in his development as a player.  We were practicing batting the other day and he got a little discouraged and just sat down.  I was moved and came along side of him and gave him a few words of encouragement.  He then sprang to his feet, and to both of our joy, he a hit the ball squarely all the way to the outfield grass.  It would have done him no good for me to take the bat out of his hand and hit the ball for him.

We usually think of “comfort” as soothing someone, consoling someone; and to some extent this is true.  But true comfort strengthens us to face life bravely and keep on going. It does not rob us of responsibility or make it easy for us to give up.

God comes along side of us not to remove the difficulty or hardship, but to strengthen us along the way (Isaiah 41:10, Philippians 4:13).

Calvary Chapel Eastvale meets Sundays, 10:30 a.m., at Clara Barton Elementary (7437 Corona Valley Ave, Eastvale). Visit their website athttp://www.CalvaryEastvale.org.