The Wading Pool

We’re all looking for it, in one form or another.  Every day, we make hundreds of little decisions that have to do with it, whether we realize it or not.  What is it?

Comfort.

From the clothes we wear to the food we eat, comfort matters.  We want it in our homes, in our cars, in our jobs, in our relationships.  And that’s ok, you know?  But our quest for comfort can lead to some bad decisions, some bad habits, and some bad lives, if we’re not careful.

Where do you go when life gets hard?  What do you run to?  Is it the drink you need to unwind, or the food you need when you’re really stressed?  Is it the relationship that you know you shouldn’t really have, or the glow of a late-night computer screen filled with things you shouldn’t be seeing?

Ultimately, if our comfort is found in anything but God alone, it’s misplaced.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” 2 Cor. 1:3

The God of all comfort.  The definition of that word means “something that affords consolation, solace, comfort or refreshment.”  Now certainly God has blessed us with many things that are comforting, and we should be able to enjoy those, no doubt.  But anything that we run to for comfort before we run to God, well…that’s a god to us. We’re making it the god of our comfort.

Jesus said that he “would not leave you comfortless.” (John 14:18) He said:

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” John 14:16

As a Christian, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, dwells within you.  Jesus said the Spirit would teach us all things (John 14:26), and one of the things the Spirit drives home over and over in the Scriptures, and over and over in my own life, is that I will never be satisfied, I will never be truly refreshed or comfortable outside of a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ.  Read the Bible and see for yourself!  As the old saying goes:  “No God, no peace.  Know God, know peace.”

All the blessings, everything that is truly a good and perfect gift (and not pale imitations designed to make you forget) comes down from God above (James 1:17).  We should give thanks for those things, and enjoy them, for they are intended to be enjoyed.  But anything, even good things, that become the source of our comfort, that become the thing we look to for peace in time of trouble, we need to be honest with ourselves about:  is it an idol?  Is it our little comforting god?

And if it is,  get rid of it.  Don’t tolerate it any longer.  Ask the True God of all comfort to give you the solace that only He can provide.