The Source of Comfort
Why are we prone to accept substitutes for the real thing?
Verse of the Day
‘All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.’
Today’s Devotional
When we are in need of comfort, is God the first place we go?
Based on my own life, the answer is “no”. God is not the first place I consistently go for comfort.
This world offers us many substitutes for God’s comfort. These options are numerous and plentiful, perhaps because of the diversity of humans. Some of these worldly comforts are easy to identify as poor substitutes. Many, though, are harder to detect. All of them are our attempt to “take the edge off” the discomfort we are feeling.
As I have been pondering my tendency to seek comfort from the “stuff of earth” instead of God, there is one thing that stands out:
The timing of the “promised” relief.
I want to feel better NOW. If it can’t be at this exact moment, then as quickly as possible. We call certain things “quick fixes” because they are quick.
Trusting God for my comfort is SLOW.
Which is hard.
And takes patience.
And trust.
None of which are our default responses as humans.
The Bible tells us that “those who wait in the Lord will renew their strength”. Having renewed strength in the midst of discomfort sounds great. Waiting on the Lord sounds hard. And creates questions. “How long will I have to wait?” “How much worse will the pain get while I am waiting?” “Are you trustworthy, God?”
Wisdom Hunters, another Christian devotional site, puts it this way: “The more desperate we feel, the more desperately we grasp for something to make us feel good! For example, psychologists often use the acronym HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, and tired). If you find yourself in one or a combination of these places, you are far more likely to aggressively seek out a source of comfort, even if that comfort is fleeting and empty.
Any comfort other than the comfort of Christ will leave us hollow and confused. And eventually, God in his kindness allows us to see these false comforts for what they truly are: substitutes. You may land the promotion at work, lose the weight, date the perfect person, and get your child into the best school in town, yet still find yourself afflicted and sorrowful. Why? Because each of these and countless more over promise and under deliver on their claims to comfort.”
My personal experience shows that sometimes the pain and discomfort I am feeling is the process required for me to see that I am turning to something other than God for comfort. As I have read back through my journals from last year, I can see tangible evidence that God’s timing and my preferred timing are VERY different. This leads me to believe that seeking God for comfort is not a quick fix. If we believe the Bible to be true, then we believe that part of today’s verse which says, “God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.” Going anywhere else for comfort is a poor substitute, even if it feels better in the moment.
Do we trust God enough to believe that He is the source of comfort, even when all we are crying for is immediate relief? This leads me back to Mark 9:24. “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief.”
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
What false comforts do you consistently turn to?
Where have you seen evidence that God’s timing is different to your preferred timing?
In what ways do you currently need God’s comfort?
Write out a prayer to God asking for His comfort today. Ask for His help to trust His timing.