Comfort

 Comfort- What is it?  Living in America, our lives often seem to revolve around comfort.  When it is cold outside, we turn on a heater or start a fire.  When it is hot, we pump up the a.c.  When we get home we kick off our shoes and sit on our couch, which we chose somewhat because it proved comfortable to us.  We chose jeans, shoes, and other clothes that feel comfortable.  We chose friends who we are comfortable being ourselves with and who comfort us when we are troubled.  If we suffer from physical pain, we take pain relief.  I don't think that I could exhaust this list.

But what happens when we can't ease the discomfort in our lives?  Things come for which there seem to be no remedy.  We toss and turn and question, "Why?"  We get confused, we get angry and we feel abandoned and alone.  All of which, I would argue, are healthy and a part of discovering lasting comfort.  This comfort is one which will not change with the seasons, will not age or wear out like our couch and our clothing, will not wear off in a few hours like pain medicine, and understands us better than our closest friend. This comfort does not usually answer our whys or make sense of our heaviest burdens.  Rather it gives us peace and stillness to overcome in the midst of walking through them.

Through all of the things in my life that have made the least sense to me, I have questioned God.  And each time He has answered in inaudible ways.  When I lost my grandfather while I was a teenager, I asked if He was real, if He was "up there", if He cared.  Less than a year later I discovered that the God who I thought was far off, was actually very near.  He wanted to be the Father I never had, He wanted to walk with me and have a relationship with me.  I remember being blown away that being a Christian was so much more than knowing "about God" and I was comforted that it was about "knowing God" in a personal relationship. Knowing I could never be perfect for God, I was comforted that He had a solution for my sins, His own Beloved Son, who lived the life I never could.  God gave me a peace and a joy that I could've never imagined possible as I accepted Christ as my Savior.

This relationship with my faithful Father has carried me through many things.  When I lost most of my community to Hurricane Katrina, He was there.  When my husband worked two months straight of 12 hour days, 7 days a week, during hurricane relief, God was there.  I had no one else but Him.   

With the loss of Ashlynn, God proves once more that He is present and that He knows my pain, hears my cry, hurts alongside me, and gives me a peace that surpasses understanding.  How do I know such comfort?  

Just before Jesus left to be with the Father He comforted His disciples.  He acknowledge their sorrow and knew their confused hearts.  He promised that He would come back to them after preparing a place for them in His house.  And He promised to send a "Comforter" and not leave them as orphans.  The Holy Spirit came shortly after Jesus left.  This is an awesome mystery!  God Himself in the form of the Holy Spirit teaches us and comforts us as we journey toward home.

I know comfort and peace through God's promises told to me through His Word.  I know it through the life of His Son told to me in the Bible.  I know it through the Spirit who opens my heart and who prays in my behalf when I am out of words to pray.

I am thankful for His faithfulness to me.  Even when the night seems long, He is there as I walk one step at a time trusting in Him.

I hope and pray that I could be a comfort and share this eternal Comfort because of how He has worked and continues to work in my life.  One of my fears is that I will forget when things are going great and that I will miss out on opportunities to love others with the love that He gives me.  May he keep my heart focused on Him and glorify Himself through me.

"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. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort." 2 Corinthians 1 3-7

More verses about God's comfort

(Psalms 119:50 NIV) My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

(Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV) You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. {4} Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

(Isaiah 54:10 NIV) Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

(Isaiah 57:18-19 NIV) I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, {19} creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them."

(Matthew 11:28-30 NIV) "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. {29} Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. {30} For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

(John 14:26-27 NIV) But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. {27} Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

broken pot

fragile clay pot crashes to the floor
the contents within cannot be ignored
colors of blue, purple and shades of gray
mixed with bright hues of yellow, orange and red

all of me from the depths laid out bare
witnesses can chose to flee or to care
pangs of sorrow, anger, fear and shame
mingled with joy, hope, love and faith

only One can understand my innermost heart
the Maker and Healer, He knew from the start
this feeble frame He created from dust
carrying the treasure that He did entrust

Lord, pick up the pieces of this frail jar
hold me together and fill me once more
with the joy of your presence, love and mercy
that You will receive all the praise and glory

  

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh." 2 Corinthians 4:7-11

Our Healer

Psalm 147 1-6

1 Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant,  and a song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.

This passage stood out to me today.  It is awesome that the Lord, who numbers and names the stars, cares enough for us that he binds up our wounds and heals our broken hearts.

Mixed Bag.

I'm kind of to the point that I am tired of writing about myself and all this stuff.  But here goes.  I've been  a mixed bag lately.  The good point of that is that I have had some very happy times.  The not so good part is that I can go from happy to not happy in a split second time.  Church was great today.  For the first time, I was not overwhelmed and could actually talk to people. All was going well this afternoon.  It was a true blessing.

Then Adam left and a cloud of despair rolled in.  Last Sunday, I had the same feeling.  It is an overwhelming feeling of everything looking impossible and of me not knowing how in the world I will make it through the week.  It is full blown loneliness, sadness, and vulnerability, all with a little "I feel crazy" mixed right in.  That is how I feel as I type this.

Now, I know God's Word.  I KNOW that He is the one that will get me through this week.  SO I do want for my faith to be stronger,  that I will walk in what I know and not in what I feel.  This seems impossible at the moment.  There is such a disconnect between my heart and my mind at times like these.

So I am praying.  In the hardest times of my life Isaiah 40 has always been a source of strength for me.  I love the whole chapter, but here are a few verses:

"27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
'My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God'?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint."

God's Word is amazing

I am amazed at the way God's Word can come so close to my innermost heart and relate perfectly.

Psalm 77

1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” 

11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16 When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20 You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.