Let’s discuss comfort …
I am reminded of a Facebook message I wrote to a friend months ago. A simple definition of comfort: 1. a state or situation in which you are relaxed and do not have any physically unpleasant feelings caused by pain, heat , cold, etc. 2. a state or feeling of being less worried, upset, frightened, etc., during a time of trouble or emotional pain. 3. a person or thing that makes someone feel less worried, upset, frightened, etc.
It’s interesting that it says ‘less’. It never fully disappears. The negative feeling just lessens. The only way to achieve comfort is from God. He promises comfort over and over in the bible. According to answers.com the this word appears 66 times in the King James Version and 65 times of other forms of comfort. God desires me to have comfort.
Where am I looking to get comfort?
Usually not from the right place. Not from God. But my own desires. The stuff that gives me that relaxed physical pleasantness from the first definition. For instance, binge TV watching, sitting and contemplating the world’s problems and solving them with great ease and fantastic ideas, checking out the internet and apps on my phone, baking, not exercising, research on the internet, trying to find something new to watch on Netflix, laying in bed an extra hour in the morning, etc. These are just a few. Riveting I know. I am an introvert and like my alone time. A lot of alone time and sitting, I like sitting. But this is not the comfort I am to be searching for.
I cannot deny the nudging at my heart. Get uncomfortable. Move. Read. Study. Write. Get uncomfortable with the world and get comfort from Me. I desire you to have more, more of Me, more comfort, and more joy. It amazes me how much I accomplish in a day when I take my eyes off of my desires and turn to Him in everything. Is it smooth sailing everyday? No. I haven’t exercised in 3 days. My family has had more take-out for dinner than I have cooked this week. I am sun burnt from napping in the sun. And I might have a bed sore. Okay, that last one is not true.
However, I do know that He loves me and desires me to cast all my anxieties and rest in Him. Rest. It doesn’t say strive for, grab on tight, cling for dear life, or be a better person. He says rest. Now that brings me joy.
How do I get comfort?
I must first start with casting my cares to God. When I release my worries, I can begin to understand the plans that God has for me. I get focus which gives me drive, with drive comes action. What action is God calling you to? What are the whispers that you hear when the noise is turned down? Be encouraged, He is still there. Answer Him and begin the journey of true comfort.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7