Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. Acts 9:31 (NKJV).
This verse picks up after the conversion of Saul, and his having to run away from the Hellenists in Jerusalem. The consequence of this was that the churches in the region entered into a season of peace and edification. The end result of this was the multiplication of the church.
One of the words that stands out for me here is the word ‘comfort’. The Holy Spirit is associated with the word comfort. It is from here that we get the word ‘comforter’. Translated from the Greek, this word refers to a call or urging done by some ‘close beside’ (biblehub.com). The implication here is a close relationship between the Holy Spirit and the person being comforted. The Greek word for comfort literally means ‘to call near’ (patheos.com). In its verb form, it can mean a variety of forms of calling near: not only comforting, but also exhorting, praying, inviting, entreating. Thus one can invite their colleague to come near, or can pray for a friend to come near, or even entreat a relationship to come near. Comfort carries the concept of being called near to a person to encourage, assist, help, etc.
This word is not used with business associates or acquaintances. Instead, it is used in reference to a person that someone is intimate with. Thus when the writer of Acts says that the church grew in the ‘comfort’ of the Holy Spirit, He is saying that the church was intimate with the Holy Spirit. I believe that one of the differentiators in these days will be intimacy with the Holy Spirit. There is so much happening around us in terms of increased cost of living, pandemics etc., and it will take intimacy to navigate these times. We need to learn to walk in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.