My daughter misplaced her beloved "blankie" on Sunday and had to sleep without it for one horrible night. She was very distraught and it took her a very long time to fall asleep. She was unable to soothe and comfort herself with any other blanket as it was not "as soft" as her blankie. After many tears and back rubs she did finally fall asleep and make it through the night.
The difficulty she had comforting herself without her beloved "blankie" made me reflect on how I comfort myself. This is something I have struggled with for a very long time but only recently came to realize. I've tried it all: food, television, alcohol, lust, friendship. There have been times where I've even longed to hear a certain voice or hug a certain person to comfort myself.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 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. 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." 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 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. 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." 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
God can fill all those empty holes that need comfort. God is more than enough. In fact, he's the only comfort that will truly fit completely into those empty holes. When I need comfort, I need to turn to the true source of comfort and not to perceived comfort that is short-lived! Even though I have a long way to go, I am on my way to finding my true Comforter, my All in All in Christ Alone! I trust that he can and will fill me till I'm overflowing, complete me in every way, and comfort me when I'm suffering or lonely.
Lord, strengthen me to be able to not turn to any other means of comfort than You. Heavenly Father, fill me....complete me....comfort me. YOU are my Comforter. YOU are my All in All! Amen!
I was just reading Psalm 62 this morning and it fits perfectly with this:
ReplyDelete1 Truly my soul finds rest in God;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
5Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[c];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
It does fit perfectly!
DeleteLike you, I have tried everything else for comfort (still try.. .)
ReplyDeleteDuring the year my daughter was sick (brain tumor and seizures) it felt like God knocked away every other thing in my life that i had tried to use to bring me comfort- one by one, all my stupid coping measures proved useless. And there I was, weak and pathetic.
And loved.
It is so amazing, how we are loved in Jesus, how we try to hide ourselves from pain everywhere else but then He gently draws us to Him and He is our hiding place.
(if you'd like the full story- check out my book at http://www.weakandloved.com/p/epilepsy.html
Yes, even knowing what truly comforts...it's a struggle to continually turn that direction..UP! Weak, pathetic, and LOVED!. Oh How He Loves us! Oh how he gently draws us back to Him.
Deletehttp://upwardnotinward.blogspot.com/2012/06/saturdays-song_16.html
I'm doings study called made to crave and it's main focus is exactly this. So glad I visited today!
ReplyDeleteThx for visiting Crissy!
DeleteI heard of that study! I heard it was wonnnnderful!! You'll have to let me know how it goes!
DeleteBecause I'm all for challenging to apply the ambiguous, I'll go a step further and ask, 'How does God comfort you?'. Is it through the reading of Scripture? The feeling of being loved? The knowledge of being loved? Being forgiven? The promise of eternal life? The blessing of a close, supportive friend? The gift of soft blankies? The taste of chocolate? A healthy sex life? Wealth? Health? A close family? Technology? Medicine? etc...etc.. etc... All the above, as I see it, can be understood as God's way to comfort us as long as we never forget that God is the source of all our blessings. It is when we see the blessings as an ends to themselves (and abuse them as such) that we stop understanding God as our source of comfort.
ReplyDeleteOne of my pet peeves is that, as a Christian Community, we so often throw out 'God loves you' to the world.. or 'Rely on God'. Unfortunately, we don't always know how to explain the application of what it means to live such statements. As a result, we can often conclude that such blessings are not really blessings, but distractions from God. At best, the result is defining many blessings as sins and find ways to avoid them. At worst we create communities like the Amish, the Christian Scientists and other relatively newer faiths that don't know how to apply contemporary blessings of life and condemn the attempt at living into potential blessings.
Laura and Falen, I just gave you an award...come visit my Ballpark and see. You girls do a great job!
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