My wife’s favorite Christmas decoration?
Snowmen…
We have many snowmen.
She has named each one…
As soon as we put “Happy the Snowman” in a chair in our family room,…
George the Cat jumps into the chair, lays down next to Happy and falls asleep…
(Continue reading to see more cat pictures… and for an explanation of why I would even bother to put this story into a post…)
I have no idea if George remembers Happy from one year to the next.
I only know that during the rest of the year when Happy sleeps in a box in the basement, George almost never sits in that chair.
Happy seems to represent comfort for George, security.
When the Christmas tree goes up, George and his sister Gracie take up residence under its branches…
Perhaps seeking protection from the rain and snow that will never fall in our family room…
or from the predators who will never stalk them there…
Safety. Comfort.
We all seek them.
We turn to God for safety and comfort and protection from life’s storms.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1
But does that verse say God will keep us out of trouble or that He will help us when we have trouble?
Jesus says…
In the world you will have tribulation… John 16:33
If we have God’s strength and power, why do we still have troubles?
Could it be that He gives us strength to lead not a life of comfort, but a life of risk and daring for His glory?
Does God protect us from affliction or in affliction?
Consider what God did for Elijah…
When he saw no way out of his troubles, Elijah asked God to take his life…
He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
What did God do?
He gave Elijah sleep and food…
Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.”1 Kings 19:5
Then God sent Him on a forty day journey to Mount Horeb, where God spoke to him…
(Where’s the comfort in a forty-day walk through the desert?)
When God spoke to him, did He direct Elijah to a place of rest and comfort?
No. After giving him food and rest and spiritual strength…
God sent him right back into the battle of life…
The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came…” 1 Kings 19:15
Elijah went back… and did what God commanded…
Knowing that God went with him.
When we face troubles, God says to us, as surely as he did to Elijah…
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
Does God provide comfort in affliction or from affliction?
Could it be both?
For in this world, we will never know what storms didn’t reached us because of the protective arm of God, or what storms we were able to survive through the strength of His providence…
