DEVOTIONS

"Lord, Make Me a" - Paragoric (?!)

The word "comfort" used here is interesting & unique, since this specific Greek word Παρηγορία, tarnslated parēgoria, is only used here. It means to console or comfort, & from it comes our English word paregoric, which is a medicine used to relieve pain. Vincent's Word Studies says that "This word, and the kindred adjectives παρηγορικός and παρηγορητικός soothing, are common in (ancient Greek) medical writings". Pain in its many forms is a normal & inescapable part of living. Everyone at times knows both physical pain & the pain of lonliness, fear, betrayal, confusion, feeling unloved, and/or misunderstood.Sometimes well-meaning people increase our pain with careless or ignorant words or actions; but other times someone comes along &, often without even realizing it, ministers to us with a healing balm - a paragoric - that brings great comfort, eases our pain & renews our souls for life's battles. Often this person is someone in our family or a close friend, but it may even be a stranger. In any case, we can rest assured that they were sent by God, according to His perfect will & timing. Jesus himself experienced this when, amidst the multitude of evil men who misunderstood, & often deliberately misinterpreted His every word & deed, the apostle Peter, under the Holy Spirit's inspiration exclaimed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." - What a blessing & comfort those words must have been to Jesus' aching heart! We may never know when or how often God uses us in this blessed healing capacity, & that's just as well, lest we get puffed up & think it was our own doing.Instead, let us try to live every day in constant openness to the leading of the Holy Spirit, trusting in God alone to guide our steps, asking Him to "make me a paragoric", to have just the right words & actions to bring strength, healing, or whatever may be needed for every person & every situation in our daily life, & especially to bear the light of His salvation to the unsaved of the world.