Comfort to my Soul

March 21, 2022

Yahweh, speak to me. I’m listening. The device says that I’ve been asleep tonight, but it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like I’ve been half asleep with something in my dreams, but once I fully woke up whatever it was slipped away. 

Yahweh, you are so good and I just want to thank you for being so good. Tomorrow is Mom’s birthday. She will be 68 years! You’ve brought her through a lot and I’m grateful. Continue to keep her, please and to strengthen her. Let her heart be in time with yours. I know this will sound weird, but thank you for having a heart. A heart that feels what we do, that hurts, that rejoices. It’s too easy (devil tricks nahh) to believe that you are unfeeling, that you don’t care about what happens to us: that you are distant. Remember that song that was so popular a (long) while ago? “God is Watching Us From a Distance.” Honestly when I heard that song as a teenager, I loved it. But as I got older and listened and understood the lyrics I realised that this song was a condemnation of you! (Thank you Yahweh for forgiving me for the time I just did not know better). We give into despair and the thought that from your (distant) perspective, everything looks great, but in reality it’s not. There’s fighting and guns and race baiting and you just watching – from a distance. 

But you are not. You are as close as my breath. You are the air I breathe. You surround me and comfort me and show me what I ought to do. You feel every heartbreak (I don’t understand how you can and still love us, because at times I feel like I barely survived mine. But I did and I have you to thank for that). You feel everything, not from a distance, not as an indifferent standoffish God, but as a loving father who holds us.  I am honoured that you desire to (and actually do) share in my joys and my pains. I am thankful that you understand me. You know what everything that I’ve been through has done to me and you don’t stand outside and mock me or be indifferent to what I’ve gone through and what I’m going through. You feel every heartbeat. You feel every tear and hear every smile and you save us. You did everything you needed to do to save us and to show us that you are here. You aren’t just close, you understand – not as an abstract thought from a distance, but as a lover. 

It’s because of you, I am no longer afraid to cry. I didn’t want anyone to see my weakness or the times I was hurting, because most don’t really understand, but you show that you do and you love us even more. 

Compassion: sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress with a desire to alleviate it. 

2 Corinthians 1:13 – Praise the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He’s a father who is compassionate and the God who gives comfort. 

It’s not just about you being close. It’s about you being close and caring and doing something about what we are going through. Specifically seeing and feeling the painful days (not just coming close and feeling on the good days), but especially on the bad days. Especially comforting us on the days when we can’t even cry anymore. You suffered so much for us that you’re able to comfort us. You suffered but yet you are the one who is comforting. 

Psalm 94:19 – When I worried about many things, your assuring words soothed my soul. 

Your words created this world. It can, without a doubt, soothe my soul. You console me/comfort me and remind me that I am not alone. I believe that so many of our anxious thoughts are made worse because we believe we are alone in this life. And even those close to us don’t understand this. And honestly, this may be true about our human counterparts. But Yahweh isn’t human. He comforts us in our distress and does something about it. 

Revelation 21:4 – He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There won’t be any more death. There won’t be any grief, crying or pain, because the first things have disappeared. 

This is his end game (though this is not a game). To wipe every tear. To be the final source of comfort so much so that he works tirelessly so that the time will come that there won’t even be any reason to cry (unless it’s tears of joy). That’s what he is working towards. For us to experience his eternal comfort. 

Thank you Yahweh, for being the comfort that we need. Not just for a season but for eternity. Thank you for loving us so completely. I love you.

Soul’s Anthem by Tori Kelly

Of Yahweh’s Promises Playlist

The Difference in His Promises

I was struggling away with this promise because in the early part of this month, you gave the promise that you would be close. And I honestly kept wondering where you were leading and then you revealed comfort. Closeness for you is indicative of your comfort, but your understanding of who we are and how we feel is so complete that you knew you had to take it further. 

As humans, we’ve all had times when someone was close and not only they weren’t a comfort, they may have been the cause of the distress – the reason why we cried. But not you. You comfort us. You soothe our soul and let us know that all is well. You wanted us to know that in your closeness, you are a comfort. You won’t see us and not draw close and help. 

Your comfort has an undeniable weight to it. I was in my bed and I usually have a sheet and a blanket over me. But as I was lying there I realised that the weight (or lack thereof) did not feel right. The sheet was still covering me, but the blanket had slipped off my feet. That’s kind of how I see/feel your comfort, as a blanket that has a weight to it and when it slips off (usually because of my actions) it is missed. I don’t feel secure anymore. The thing is, we know when the blanket is missing, but sometimes we are too lazy, too scared, too (insert other issues here) to reach out and replace the blanket. To reach out to you. And that saddens you, because you desire to comfort us, but even in all your greatness, you won’t force us. You wait patiently for us (though sometimes I think you do get a little impatient in cases like this, like: what’s taking them so long to call me? Can they see that I am here ready and waiting to help? The angels are anxious to step in. Just call nahhh). So I know this may not be truly accurate, but you do eagerly wait for us. Thank you for waiting and I pray that as a people we don’t keep you waiting for long. Thank you for loving me, I love you. 

Head in the Sand (I Wish)

Today, I kind of wish I could stick my head in the sand. On my way to the office I got a call about an issue. Part of the issue we truly cannot deal with, the individual has to fix that but many times people expect us to also deal with interpersonal issues, but we simply cannot: though we try to assist at times. Many times, we are expected to build for them, but we cannot. It’s sad, but there are other agencies that can assist, we’re not Yahweh (lol): all things to all men. And even though I’m making a joke in a way, it is serious. We truly can’t help everyone with their concerns.