Commander and Comforter-in-Chief

To say that the office and job of the President of the United States is a complex one would be a massive understatement. Not only does he oversee the most formidable military on earth, but he sets the agenda for the most powerful and influential nation on the planet as well. But sometimes the job requires other seeming lesser things – like comforting just a small percentage of the nation’s citizens who have experienced some sudden tragedy or deep form of heartache.

That was President Barak Obama’s task this week as he tried to offer words of comfort and hope to the devastated families of those brutally murdered at Fort Hood. His was not any enviable position to be in. But his is the position that demands it.

Bill Clinton helped rebuild his troubled presidency with the way he reacted to the vicious Oklahoma City bombings. Then, too, George W. Bush governed throughout some of the worst events ever in American history. There was 9/11, the worst terrorist attack ever on the nation’s soil. That was soon followed by Hurricane Katrina, the most traumatic and crippling natural disaster to ever hit the U.S. mainland. Along with these there came a series of smaller but still difficult events like the space shuttle explosion, a terrible shooting rampage at Virginia Tech, a tornado that wiped out a Kansas town, a bridge collapse in Minnesota, Midwestern flooding and the catastrophic California wildfires.

When horrific events like these hit, it is the responsibility of Commander-in-Chief to be the chief comforter to the individual citizens he leads. Again, it is a difficult requirement but a worthy and sacred role. It is also true that the popularity of a President, and even his platform, can be altered depending on how key events are handled in public.

The God of the Bible is well aware of the grief and frustration that is the eventual part of every life. The ability of the Creator to relate to those He created is mentioned in Hebrews 4:15. The writer records there, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” The Bible stresses forcefully that Jesus was 100% man while, at the same time, being 100% God. (Philippians 5:2-8) This miraculous and mysterious union enables Him to know how we feel when we face what we face. And while Christ’s human side can fully relate to our trials and needs, as fully God, He is able help man rightly respond and overcome them.

During His great prayer in John 14, Jesus was preparing His followers for His death and soon departure. He informed them that His leaving would not leave them some terrible void or sense of loss. Rather the Lord gave them a glimpse of the One who would take His earthly place on a full-time basis. It would be none other than His equal but in the form of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This part of the triune Godhead would not, in any way, be an inferior substitute to Christ’s physical presence. Instead, He would make available to all believers certain supernatural gifts and abilities.

One of the most critical of those assets is named in verses 16-18. John records Jesus’ words as follows. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

He later re-emphasizes the reason for, and benefits of, His leaving. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” (John 16:7) The Spirit would no longer come and go for specific and limited ministry tasks as was the case in Old Testament times. (Psalm 51:11) But He would now empower and dwell permanently in the hearts and lives of every true follower of Christ. Jesus was simply trying to convey the superior value of this new spiritual relationship.

Pain and suffering have always been part of the human condition. The reasons should be obvious. First, man lives in a sinful and broken world. Then secondly, man has been made in the image of God! (Genesis 1:26-27) This amazing blend allows him to share certain of God’s attributes - the ability to love and sense grief and loss being a prime example. Emotional and relational suffering is a natural part of being human. But dealing with it, with any lasting degree of success, requires something unnatural – better yet, something supernatural. It requires the ongoing presence of perfect Comforter. It requires the helping and healing power of the Holy Spirit. And that requires an intimate knowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and also as Lord.

The words of the President to hurting families at Fort Hood were perhaps helpful – for that moment. But the words of Jesus to His family members allows for something outsiders can only dream of, and long for, when times of crisis arise.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

America’s “Comforter-in-Chief” may offer fine words of peace, But they cannot ever replace or equal the ministry of “Chief of all Comfort”.

Bill Breckenridge