Don't Be A Vibrating Puppy!

picture source

As I was riding in the car with my dog Emily earlier this afternoon she was nervous out of her mind. She was shaking so bad she was almost vibrating like my phone. I was trying to hold her still and calm her down by petting her and telling her, "It's okay", (which she understands, she is actually pretty smart). Nothing was working.

As I was trying to comfort my vibrating dog I thought about how God tries to comfort us. God always has His arms around us while all we can do is shake because we are focused intently on our fear instead of our God, but which one has the real control? How much do we sacrifice at the alter of fear merely on a daily basis?

If we ask God to comfort us He will comfort us. "Shout for joy you heavens; rejoice, you earth, burst into song , you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones (Isaiah 49:13, NIV)". How blessed we are to have a loving God who comforts His people. He could send flaming porcupines shooting at us daily when we are scared and alone but instead He comforts us, because He is that kind of God.

None of us deserve to be comforted by God. We shake our proverbial fists at Him everyday and He has every right to be mad at us. ". . . I will praise you, Lord. Although you were angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation (Isaiah 12: 1,2, NIV)". Because God comforts us even though we don't deserve it, He is our salvation. He loves us and always keeps us in mind when we are hurting even though we don't deserve it.

In Paul's second letter to the church of Corinth he says:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. . ."
(2 Corinthians 1:3-5, NIV)

Comfort , just like love, flows from God. This is God's calling for all of us who receive that comfort, to comfort others. Maybe you are friends with someone who isn't a believer and they can't pray to God for comfort like you can, yet they are going through a really hard time. God calls you to comfort them, because what is the point of comfort if you can't give it to someone else?

Our God is a God of comfort. Even when we feel alone and we are afraid, all we have to do is ask God for comfort and He will give it to us. We don't deserve His comfort but He gives it to us anyways. The comfort we receive from Him we should share with others. So don't be a vibrating dog, get some of that good Jesus comfort!