Thought for Today
Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (KJV)
Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Acts 9:31 Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.
Where do you find your comfort in life? “When the dog bites, when the bee stings” where do you turn for comfort? Is it in a favorite pillow, a blanket, a stuffed animal, a pet? Maybe you turn to a favorite article of clothing, a book, a hot cup of coffee or tea? Most of us have some item in our lives which brings us comfort.
Like many others, I find great comfort in food; and, I have what I refer to as ‘comfort meals.’ When I am stressed, when I am sad or troubled, there are meals in which I find comfort and solace. Regrettably, I also find comfort and solace in food when I am neither stressed nor sad. I am a self-admitted stress eater . . . and also a bit of a foodie.
I thought of all this, especially about my favorite ‘comfort meals’ Saturday. Greta and I do not have any particular stress in our lives currently, we are not going through any ‘issues’ in our lives right now . . . but, I decided to make our favorite ‘comfort meal.’ Many of our favorite meals provide quantities we can reheat throughout the ensuing week. Our favorite, meatloaf and mac & cheese, is one such meal. I have used the same recipe for meatloaf since 2013. It is a recipe called Cajun Meatloaf which I downloaded from a spice company’s website. That recipe calls for a couple of minor tweaks to a standard meatloaf recipe, mainly softening the vegetables in browned butter and applying a coating of ketchup mixed with honey. Our mac & cheese is the basic recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens new Cook Book which we received ‘new’ as a wedding present in 1966. That book is battered and worn, held together by duct tape. But, it has the best recipe for mac & cheese I have ever found. Our meal is not a fancy, gourmet meal. It is not a meal either of us remember from our childhood. It is not even a meal we fixed for our own children in their childhoods. But it is now our favorite comfort meal.
Where do you find your comfort in life? “When the dog bites, when the bee stings” where do you turn for comfort? A favorite pillow, a blanket, a stuffed animal, a pet? A favorite article of clothing, a book, a hot cup of coffee or tea?
There are places and things to which I turn in addition to eating and food. When I am struggling with a sermon or a particular passage of scripture, I often turn to the presentation Bible I received in my youth. It is a first edition Revised Standard Version, published in 1953. It’s on its 3rd cover; the pages are torn and taped. There are verses underlined and highlighted. It is still my go-to Bible. I find comfort in the familiar wording, in the familiar weight of that Bible in my hands.
There are particular verses in the Bible to which I turn for comfort. Like many Christians, I learned the 23rd Psalm as a youth. Like most of my generation, I memorized it in the King James Version. No other translation of verse 4 has ever reached the power and majesty of that verse in the King James Version. Interestingly, I believe the King James Version is the most accurate translation of the Hebrew.
Where do you find your comfort in life? It is okay to eat comfort foods, to have a favorite chair, pillow, stuffed animal, etc. Life is difficult enough, scary enough on its own, without our having to face it sans comfort-aids. As a Christian, however, I know that my greatest source of comfort and support is in the love of our Creator God. “When the dog bites, when the bee stings” I find comfort in John 3:16, in the 23rd Psalm, in the Lord’s Prayer. One of my favorite hymns is What a Friend We Have in Jesus. “What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!/Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear/All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Stay safe, find comfort in praying to our Creator, trust God,
Pastor Ray