The God of all comfort

 

This month has been great! Most of the ministry we have gotten to be a part of this month has included over night prayer times in the park, hitchhiking ministry, intercession, surfing ministry and sign ministry. I have learned so much about God’s love and grace this month and can’t wait to learn more as the year continues to unfold. I want to share a story about a man named Fred. We met Fred the other night when we stayed the night and prayed in Rails Park.

Most of what we do in the park is just pray and as people walk through, we usually talk to them and share Jesus with them in whatever way we can. We started at 9pm Wednesday night. Fred showed up around 9:30 that night and he was pretty drunk. He had this look of sadness in his eyes and a pretty long delay from when we asked questions and when he would actually answer them. Fred is an Aborigine who lives on the streets of Byron Bay. Most Aborigines have been through a lot of abuse that didn’t end until the 1960’s. As the night went on, Fred continued to come up to us and talk with us. Most of the things he talked about were filled with bitterness at how his people have been mistreated and how he has been mistreated. If we mentioned Jesus, he would go off about how Jesus allowed his people to be raped and murdered. He seemed to really dislike us, but couldn’t get enough of us. At one point, he was sitting with us and he said, “why are you people so comfortable??” We got to share with him that Jesus has given us peace and that he could have that same peace that we have been given. By 8am the next morning, we had spent all night with Fred and had the opportunity to share the hope we have in Jesus and how people may fail him, but God never would. This man’s life has been so filled with bitterness from past hurts, but he admitted to us that he would be open to being healed of his hurts. We got to tell him that God really loves him and he teared up at that thought that God would even say that about him. The whole night was mostly us talking to Fred, and it seemed like God wanted it that way. God planted a seed through us, so we need to be praying that He brings the increase! We will probably never see Fred again, but God always has His eye on him and he knows how to heal the deepest pain. Maybe one day, he will be able to take that same comfort he has received and pour it into others.