https://odb.org/2026/01/14/comfort-food-2
2 Corinthians 1:3–7 (NIV): 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 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. 7 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.
Then I checked the receipt. No donuts. Frustrated, I cried out, “All I wanted from the store was a donut!” Fifteen minutes later, my husband handed me a bag of donuts. He’d braved the snow again and snuck out to buy them. After squeezing him tightly, I sheepishly said, “I’m glad you didn’t get into an accident just to appease my craving!” The kind of comfort we may get from satisfying our cravings is always short-lived. As the apostle Paul shared with the Corinthians, true—and lasting—comfort comes from the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). (Alyson Kieda, Our Daily Bread 14th January 2026)
Second Corinthians 1:3-7 includes a cluster of “comfort” words. The word translated “comfort” (vv. 3, 4, 5, 6 [2x]) is paraklēsis, a compound word meaning “to call alongside to assist.” Before His departure, Jesus used the related word paraklētos, translated “advocate” to speak of the Holy Spirit: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever” (John 14:16; see also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Other English versions render it “helper,” “comforter,” “counselor.” Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, believers in Christ experience God’s comfort and in turn can extend it to others. (Arthur Jackson, Insight, Our Daily Bread 14th January 2026)
Satisfying our cravings is one of the simple pleasures in life, provided we don’t over indulge and we keep it genuinely simple. There are cravings that are more sinister like that of a seriel killer. Or we may have cravings of a sexual nature, potentially creating social havoc if pursued recklessly. Even truly simple pleasures like having a bowl of cendol (a sweet Malaysian dessert) may have health implications if we over indulged, for example, like having it two or three times a day!
I think we all have our comfort food, things we indulge in to make us happy for the moment. I recalled when I quit smoking around 30 years ago, I used to munch on peanuts to overcome the craving for nicotine. But over time I put on a lot of weight – nearly 30 kgs over 20 years although in the past few years, I’ve shed more than 12 kgs. I’m still a long way away from my weight when I was a scrawny thin young adult!
As much as we should allow for simple pleasures in life including comfort food or some favourite past time like going fishing, we cannot avoid or run away from the fact that our ultimate comfort is with God. It is good discipline to go to the LORD God, our Lord Jesus Christ for the comfort that is everlasting and have no adverse consequences. He has provided us with His Holy Spirit. We should learn to rest in Him so that we may dwell and be engulfed in the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Ronnie's Thoughts 