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7 Bible Verses About Loving Those That Hurt Us

7 Bible Verses About Loving Those That Hurt Us

Last updated on: October 28, 2016 at 3:10 pm by Jack Wellman

7 Bible Verses About Loving Those That Hurt Us 2016-10-28T15:10:54-05:00 Jack Wellman

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Here are seven Bible verses about loving those who are hurting.

Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

I have several friends, but there is one friend that stands out above the others and he’s extremely close to me because he has comforted me when I needed it most, he has encouraged me when I needed it the most, and he’s loved me closer than my own brother has, and always just when I needed it the most. I know that it was only by God’s sovereignty that we crossed paths. There are no accidents in our life as far as God is concerned, so this man, in my opinion, was born for my times of adversity, and I was born for his. Of course, we were all created for His glory, but it glorifies God when we love our friends in the deepest, darkest times of adversity and at the time of their greatest need. The same thing goes for them being comforted by us.

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

When Job was enduring such tremendous suffering in his disease, and from the loss of his family, he never mourned over the loss of his possessions. It was his children (all 10 of whom died) and his physical suffering that grieve him, not the loss of everything he owned. After this, “Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him” (Job 2:11). Jesus tells us that those who mourn today will be comforted, so if there is any comfort that comes today, let it come through a friend or family member. If you’re mourning, leave the door open for others to come to you to comfort you in your loss, whatever it may be.

Isaiah 49:13 “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted.”

In the end, it is the Lord Himself Who sends us comfort, but He may use others to do that for Him, but God has still comforted us today by His Word with the great and precious promises He has made (John 3:16). Regardless of what it is we’re going through, God has compassion on His children who have been afflicted, and God has appointed these times as such, just as Solomon wrote, that there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Eccl 3:4). Even though your friends can comfort you today, it will be God Himself that will finally wipe away every tear, and He will do so forever (Rev 21:4).

Second Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

When the Apostle Paul wrote about being comforted, he told the Corinthians that we should comfort others by the very same comfort that God has given us. This comfort could have come in the form of an encouraging word from a friend, a phone call from a family member, or something you read in the Word of God (i.e. Psalm 103). Paul’s point is we should give others the same type of comfort that we received from God, whatever manner than came in, in order to “comfort those who are in any affliction”.

Proverbs 18:24 “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

When my son was young he complained to me that he had no friends. I suggested that to find a friend, be a friend. Find someone that has something in common with you, and then, just be nice to them. Help them, encourage them, and comfort them when they need it. Solomon tells us that there is a friend, meaning that one special friend, who sticks to us like no other. He put it in the singular. In fact, there will be that one special friend who sticks closer to us than a blood brother or sister does, and who is closer to us than anyone else. On the other hand, having too many friends’ takes away the possibility of having that one, close friend who is a friend at all times. To run with too many can lead ruin.

Isaiah 51:12 “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass.”

When I read about another Christian being martyred for their faith, I wonder if I would be able to do endure that. If it was a matter of life or death, would I renounce my faith in Christ? What would any of us do having the threat of death over us? Isaiah the Prophet, in writing for God, reminds us that He is sovereign over mankind, so we are not to fear any man. Fear is the opposite of trust because when we fully trust in God, we need not fear death itself. What is the worst possible thing that could happen? You are killed, and then in the next moment, you’re in the presence of the Lord (2nd Cor 5:8).

Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

When Lazarus died, “many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother” (John 11:19), and when Jesus arrived, He too wept (John 11:35). This is what godly people do. They “rejoice with those who rejoice,” but they also “weep with those who weep.” This is how God will use others (including us) as a means to comfort others. On one occasion, “Ephraim their father mourned many days and his brothers came to comfort him” (1st Chron 7:22). There many other examples of people comforting others and weeping with others and rejoicing with others in the Bible, but not out of compulsion, but because their heart breaks when their friend or family member’s heart breaks. It’s like I tell others; if my wife gets cut, I bleed.

Conclusion

A true friend loves us at all times and not just during the good times, but at all times, including those times when we’re walking through the valley of the shadow of death. A friend loves even when their friend is very unlovable, and so they mourn with them when they’re mourning, they weep when they weep, and they laugh when they laugh. When we love others while they’re hurting, we’re applying the balm of love, and we know, love never fails (1st Cor 13:8).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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