Inner Comfort

“Now let Your unfailing love be my comfort, in keeping with Your promise to Your servant.” Psalm 119:76

It is so easy to buy into the myth of self-reliance. Perhaps it helps to think back upon the day of our birth. You know, the moment in time when we decided to emerge on this planet. We had enough of those dark days surrounded by murky liquid all alone. So, without any help from the outside, we made our appearance. Within a few quick breaths we hit the floor, started walking, and began our first full-time job within the week.

That doesn’t sound familiar? Of course not. Although, I’ve often wondered if it is at all possible to remember the moment of our birth. I suggest, though, that the evidence supports the fact that we had a whole lot of help from our host Mommy. She is the one whose muscles contracted so deeply she cried in pain. Her body kept us alive from the moment of conception, sharing every nutrient with us. Without her we would neither exist nor have been born. We had little to do with any part of our grand entrance on planet earth.

And, though we gain more and more independence as we mature, complete self-reliance seems just as far away as at our first breath. Oh, we may succeed in school or sports, achieving honors along the way. We may become the top salesman or earn honors for writing. Even if we have mastered a certain field of study, we probably fall short in another.

I excelled academically through all my schooling. I exited High School with a 3.8 GPA and was voted “Best Actor” in our school, which produced four full-length plays a year. I played in a little Christian band, was a successful youth pastor and saw my first church experience a legitimate move of God.

But I also have not measure up. I never played high school football. There were 4,000 students when I attended, and at 5 foot 7 inches and 125 pounds, there was no way I would make the squad. I no longer coach drama because of health reasons. Though I still love music, I don’t get to play nearly as much as I used to. And, for as many successes I have had in my professional ministry, I have had as many failures.

I think the Psalmist knew all about dependence. I think he knew we sometimes dig away at our lives like a pet dog in the back yard. And, not realizing how long we’ve been at it, we find ourselves hopelessly at the bottom of a self-made pit. Whether the pit is of our own design or not, there is one thing about them all; if you only look up, you see the stars!

Parents of young children know all about comfort. Knees and elbows are made of rough skin for a reason; they receive most of the scrapes and bruises as we get used to our young bodies. Band Aids and mom’s kisses usually healed those hurts within moments. The inner wounds are the ones that need long-term care; and good parents give careful attention to them as well. While our parents are still alive, they are the constant source of comfort for the wounds of broken promises, misplaced trust or personal failure.

But beyond and above even the best parents’ care, Father God comforts us with His unfailing love. His love is the kind that never changes. He does not change His opinion of us based on our performance or our failures. He is ready to heal the hidden scrapes and bruises that have roughened up our hearts. His promise to comfort, encourage and strengthen never fails.