Instruments of Comfort
Does God’s comfort always feel good in the moment?
Verse of the Day
‘Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.’
Today’s Devotional
If you asked me to name a few things that comfort me, a rod nor a staff would be on my short list. Or my long list, for that matter. So why does David describe them as comforting in Psalm 23?
There is some debate as to whether “your rod and your staff” is a description of two different shepherding tools, or if it is one tool used in two different ways. Either way, there are two uses: one was protection against predators and one was to control and guide the flock. If God is my Shepherd, then He is using a tool (or tools) to protect me from the enemy and to keep me on course.
How well do you respond to correction? As a sheep, if I am wandering away from the Shepherd, the herd, and safety, I would want to be corrected. But in the moment of the nudge from the staff, it will likely feel like an interruption. Or an irritation. Or (most likely) like I am being asked to give up what I want.
Sometimes we are wandering off-track without realizing it, maybe because we aren’t paying attention. Sometimes we are headed in a certain direction because there is something that we see that we are wanting. Sometimes we are following others. Whatever the reason for our wandering, the nudge from the staff is probably not going to feel like a warm blanket on a cold day.
Correction as a form of comfort will only feel like comfort after the fact. And even then, it is likely that there will only be a sense of relief if we are given the opportunity to see the perils we were saved from.
Many years ago, I lived through a situation that felt devastating to me as it was happening. At the time, I was hurt and humiliated and embarrassed. I had no idea what God was doing or why. Today, I can look back at that situation and know that it was God’s staff of correction. He was saving me from something that would have been much more painful than the correcting events themselves. At the same time, He was directing me to something better that He had in store for me. But at the time, I could not see any of that.
So how is any of that comforting?
It is only comforting in hindsight.
By looking back at what God saved me from, it comforts me to know that He cares so much. It gives me hope and faith that anything in my life today that is not as I would choose might be God’s correction or direction.
My prayer is that I would heed God’s gentle nudges so that He does not have to whack me with the staff to finally get my attention. My prayer is that when nudged, I will quickly trust His leading instead of being irritated at the redirection. My prayer is that occasionally, He will give me a glimpse of what He is leading me away from, and that this will grow my faith. And as always, I pray to be willing to be guided by the only One who knows where I should go, even if I don’t understand.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Think of an example of how God saved you from something. Write out your gratitude for His leading.
What discomfort that you are currently experiencing might be a redirection of God?
What comforts you today, in hindsight, that was not comfortable at the time?
How does looking and reflecting on the events of your life build your faith today?
Write a prayer asking God to increase your faith and for help to be easily redirected by Him.