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BRAVER THAN LIONS
Sam Stringer
Jan 22, 2025
May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.
Psalm 119:76
What comforts you? What does it mean to be comforted? Merriam-Webster (online) defines
comfort as, “strengthening aid; consolation in time of trouble or worry; a feeling of relief or
encouragement; contented well-being; satisfying or enjoyable experience; one that gives or
brings comfort.” Reading that definition should make us pause and ask ourselves what we’re
really seeking when we pursue comforts. Now, I know the most obvious answer is essentially to
feel at ease, but seriously, what are we pursuing, why are we pursuing it, and why are we drawn
to that? Have you ever found that the more comfort you pursue, the more you inevitably seek
even more comfort? Reminds me of a saying I once heard, “A luxury, once experienced,
becomes a necessity.” There’s a strong connection between what we consider luxurious and
what we see as comfortable. Look around our society and you will see a plethora of avenues for
finding comforts.
You know what else? People seek comfort in strange places, too. People seek comforts in
addictions, don’t they? Though it destroys them, for a brief moment, a comfort is provided in
something that will consume them. We seek comfort sometimes in things like anger: if I just
unleash and let some person have it, I will feel comforted from my inner rage. I think if you and I
start to unpack comfort, we find that it may be even the prop of our lives on so many levels. We
might seek comfort in people, which many of us do, and perhaps place an incredible burden
upon them by making them carry a weight they weren’t made to uphold (in the place of God).
Comfort often comes down to peace of mind and yet it can be quite the trap for our relationship
with God. In fact, comfort easily stands in the way of trusting God; comfort can become a god in
itself to us, something we have experienced and now demand and even worship as a necessity.
David says in Psalm 119:76, “May your unfailing love be my comfort.” You cannot find comfort
in God’s love until you are starting to make a habit out of finding rest and refreshment in God.
You can’t delight in His love if you are neglecting it, doubting it, perhaps denying it. If your focus
is in other places and certain things have become more important to you than God, know that
it’s very hard to find comfort in His love, though it is declared firmly to you. See, you and I have
a Bible that expresses so much of God’s love and promises within arm’s reach, and we are
often given to the reality that while “that’s great,” it’s not enough to us. We want comforts on our
terms in our selfish, fickle ways, rather than finding it in the firmness of the love of God.
Again, the Psalmist writes, “May your unfailing love be my comfort.” Interesting, it doesn’t say in
the verse that it absolutely is his comfort, but rather an expression of a desire that it become his
comfort. Could you ask God for that today, too? You have the grounds for firmly believing in the
love of God, but have you or I sought to find comfort in our souls within that love? God has
promised to love us, but have we determined to make that enough for our peace of mind today?
I am loved. You are loved. Loved by God nonetheless. God, help us that we not only
acknowledge Your love for us, but find our comfort in that knowledge.
Does God love you? Yes. Are you finding comfort in that love? Oh, that’s quite a different question, but you could.
Be blessed today.
Sam Stringer
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks
registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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