COMFORT FOOD

I have to confess that I like comfort food! Well, actually, I like all kinds of food but that’s another story for another day. When life is treating me harshly, I counter the attack by raising up a barrier of comfort food. I have discovered a special defensive tool that can only be found in a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and several “old fashioned” donuts. This simple pleasure seems to blunt the sharp edge of the attack and has a calming effect on my soul—my whole outlook on life improves. Not quite as comforting to me, but still important, are chocolate chip cookies and any one of Baskin Robbins 37 Flavors (that’s ice cream, if you are from Missouri).

To my great delight I found that the Bible talks rather favorably about comfort food. “Now, Dave, don’t stray too far from orthodoxy,” some will say. Well, unbeliever, let me prove the point to you. In Genesis 18, three angels from the Lord appear to Abraham and Sarah. Abraham, ever the gracious host, rushes to the angels and extends an invitation of hospitality to them. He says, “And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said” (Genesis 18:5; also see Judges 19:5).

So there you have it! Comfort food is validated by no less than Abraham—and witnessed to by three angels! So, why are we talking about comfort food? Because there are times when we all need comfort and, frankly, I am delighted to know that the Bible has a lot to say about comfort, because I seem to need it frequently.

“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). The rod represents the Word and the staff represents the Holy Spirit.

“…And walking in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit (paraklete), they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31). The ‘paraklete’ is the strengthening presence of the Holy Spirit.

“…that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

Another day I will write about the Holy Spirit, the Comforter (paraklete), but today lets think just about the comfort of the Scriptures for a couple minutes. My real affinity for comfort food cannot be satisfied in a coffee shop for a couple of dollars. I find much of my real comfort in the provision God has made for me through His Holy Spirit and the Word.

Do you have any favorite passages that just seem to be inexhaustible in their meaning and you return to over and over? When the onslaught heats up and it seems so very difficult to get into deep study, do you find yourself drawn to passages that ring with familiarity? When you begin to move toward those familiar passages, do you ever hear an accusatory voice saying, “Don’t do that, you’ve read that a hundred times. That’s just wrong; you’re a smarter person than that.” That is not the voice of the Lord nor is it your own spirit talking. What you are hearing is the voice of the enemy attempting to short-circuit you. Our enemy does not want you to receive God’s comfort; he wants to keep you away from God’s provision so he lies and accuses. The enemy wants you miserable and uncomfortable so he can trick you into a mistake. Stick your finger in the enemy’s eye by going straight to the passage and letting God’s Word minister to you!

I have a number of passages that I go to when the heat is on. Early in my life I was deeply ministered to by Psalm 34 (especially verses 4-7) and I have gone there hundreds of times over the years. Jeremiah chapter one is the passage I was reading when God called me into His service and I have returned to drink at that well more times than I can count. I have a special affinity with both of Paul’s letters to Timothy and have read, studied and preached from both of the books over and over. Recently I have spent a lot of time in Psalm 37 and have received great encouragement from this chapter.

There are other “comfort stations” for me in the Scriptures like Psalm 23 (which I have memorized), and Psalm 91. All the passages I have referred to and their application to me are what I believe Paul was referring to in Romans 15:4 when he spoke of the “comfort of the Scriptures.”

While the focus of this short devotional has been on comfort, I think it fitting that we end with the understanding of why Paul penned this word in Romans 15:4: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (King James Version). The patience (endurance) and the comfort that come to us through Scripture is that we might have hope. In a previous article I wrote at length about the biblical meaning of hope. Briefly stated (that will be a miracle for me to do), the Bible word hope has been defined as “the confident expectation that as God has worked for His people in the past, so He will again, for me!”