[CarrOut]

How do we put together a scripture like 2 Corinthians 1:3-7........
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."
........all about comfort.........with God's statement as recorded in Matthew10:34-36........
"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.".......about division?

We might see some resolution in the Lord's lament over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-39)........
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

God would gather us and comfort us, but to those who refuse, there is no comfort, because they won't acknowledge God until it is unavoidable to do so.

[hockeydad]

Very interesting...

You are reminding us here that God is the source of our peace and comfort but at the scripture points out those are not to be viewed in the same way as the world views those words.

Comfort does not mean a 3000 square foot house, a fancy sports car, an entertainment system with a 52 inch plsma TV and an unlimited bank account. Jesus reminds us that in the presence of God is a very dangerous place. If you don't believe that, read the book Jesus Freak or check out the Voice of the Martyrs website. Christians the world over are being persecuted at unprecedented rates. Nearly everywhere except in America and it's only a matter of time there.

The comfort we experience is the Holy Spirit's working in our lives during those times of trial that the world throws at us, whether its cancer or job loss or persecution.

[CarrOut]

Originally Posted by hockeydad

The comfort we experience is the Holy Spirit's working in our lives during those times of trial

You are so right. We get a hint that God is talking about something not of this world in what seems to be the crux of the scripture in Corinthians:"If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort." It is not of this world to think that it doesn't matter whether we are distressed or comforted, the result is still comfort. As you say, it is the Holy Spirit working that brings comfort.