2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

How do you define comfort? Is it physical? Is it emotional? Is it situational? Is it relational?

Allow me to propose positional comfort. In these verses we are reminded of the great love which not only has been bestowed upon us by grace but has taken up residence in our hearts. It is not easy to think about comfort in the midst of trials and tribulations. Only in positional comfort can you maintain any degree of stability. Those other comforts can and sometimes are placed in jeopardy.

The mind falls under great distress in some of the things we encounter in this life. Jesus as much as warned us they would. Those things cannot change the positional condition we have in Christ and that should be comforting to your heart if not your mind.

I do not know what you have been through in this life. Christ does and He knows best how to comfort you in any situation. Personally I have found that while my world was fallen apart around me, He causes me to stand and not fall. Knowing Him in this way is a comfort that cannot be expressed in words. It can only be experienced.

The world does not understand that. They may accuse you of all kinds of negative things because they do not understand. Some will ask the right question. “How can you stand up under all this?” For those people you have an opportunity to witness. Give praise to God who comforts you in ways no one else can.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The first word here is let. It indicates cooperation. A light shines in darkness, which is its purpose. The part of shining forth is a matter of cooperative performance. Jesus hinted to us about the effectiveness of obedience of faith in regards to this.

Matthew 6:21-23 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

What do you treasure? Jesus connected the light of the eye with the condition of the heart. Do you treasure Christ above all else? If the answer to that is yes, then your eye is single, there is no darkness in you and the light will shine outwardly to be seen by all you encounter.

If on the other hand you treasure attention, fame, rewards, titles, accolades, accumulation of wealth or anything of this world before Christ, then even if Christ dwells in you, that light is forced to shine upon the darkness in you. That prevents the light from shining outwardly.

The love of Christ will and must achieve a work in you before He can achieve a work through you.

James 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?