What's something about God that comforts you?

Isaiah 41:10 NLT: ¹⁰ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

As I think about the question "What's something about God that comforts you?" I am taken back to when I was a child. What were the things that comforted me when I was little? I can honestly say when my parents would pick me. There was something about being wrapped up in their loving arms that was very comforting especially when I was upset.

Fast forward to today. I am no longer that little child that my parents could pick up and comfort. Today, a good hug is always good.

It is those same feelings of being picked up as a child or getting a hug today that remind me of the comfort that we get from God. Granted He does not physically pick us up or give us a hug, but He is able to comfort us in other ways.

One of the ways that God comforts us is by the relationships that He puts us in. The people He surrounds us with. Now this may be family, or friends, or that special person that God has placed in your life. For me, God has brought me an immense comfort through my wife. She has shown me what godly love truly is. I am not perfect, but my wife loves me unconditionally. The love that my wife has for me is just as Paul describes it in 1st Corinthians 13. Her love for me is patient and kind. She is not jealous, or boastful, or rude. She keeps no records of my wrongs. Her love for me never gives up, it never loses faith, and I always see the hope in her eyes through whatever circumstance were going through.

So, my answer to the question for today of "What's something about God that comforts me?", that would be His incredible love for me.

What's something that sticks out to you about fear?

Psalm 56:3 NLT: 3 But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.

What sticks out to me about fear is that it can be paralyzing. Fear can stop us from doing so many things in our lives. For some fear is simply walking out the door of their home. For others it can be flying or driving. And yet for others it is interacting with other people. There are just so many things that cause fear in our lives and that fear paralyzes us. 

When I was young, I was on a campout with my parents at a park in Central Iowa and the weather turned very quickly. Ultimately, I watched a tornado pick up a 5th wheel and slam it down on its top. Just to the south of where that happened was a pup tent and two bicycles. The bicycles remained up against tree and the pup tent stayed standing. Our fold down camper, which was just across the road from the 5th wheel, had a tent stake stuck in the roof, no other damage. Something that was easily fixed with some caulk. 

Now I could have become just deathly afraid of storms. But today I must be reminded by my wife to come inside or to stay away from the windows during storms. Those storms can be very scary, yet there is something that I find incredibly beautiful about them. We can do the same thing with any of our fears. If we give them over to God, then we can see the absolute beauty that only He can bring about from those fears. 

With the current pandemic, there is a lot of fear out there. But by looking at the world through God’s eyes I am seeing nature healing. I am seeing families spending more time together, some whether they like it or not. Families are eating dinner at the dinner table with each other. We are slowing down and in doing so we are able to look at all the beautiful things that we have around us. Please, do not get me wrong, this pandemic is horrible; people are dying, people are deathly ill, and people are in harm's way daily because they have to work in this environment. We have to remember that this is not something from God because we live in a fallen world there will be things like this pandemic. But in all things God brings blessing. Give your fears to Him and watch the beauty He brings.

What's a way you can demonstrate your love for God?

Deuteronomy 6:5 (NLT)
5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

Jesus expanded on this in Matthew 22:35–40 (NLT)
35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

God wants us to share that same love we have for Him with everyone including ourselves. If we are not sharing God's love; if we are arguing, fighting, disrespecting, etc with others we are not living out our faith. We are not sharing the hope that we have. We are not obeying or honoring God.

Take every opportunity to share God's love in any and every way possible.