He Comforts...

He Comforts in the Midst of the Muddle
Theology in the Trenches

By Kathleen Kjolhaug

Jesus was sent down by His heavenly Father to His earthly Father, Joseph. Joseph stepped into the role of father. He stepped into the role in order to love, abide with, and care for a child which was not of his flesh. He trusted with a strength that was not his own, and no doubt when he was weak, the holy ground upon which he walked appeared many times over a bit shaky. That is how things look, humanly speaking. But from God’s point of view, it looks quite different.

As mere mortals we doubt, demand, work for, arrange and rearrange all the while trying to influence the outcome of situations we find ourselves in. In the midst of the muddle, Biblical truth is clear. “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

The trials, the tribulations, that which is and is to come are all gifts. To live life out in hallowed perspective becomes impossible to man, but with God all things are possible. To put on the mind of Christ is paramount as we mount up with wings like eagles. He carries; we need only soar. It is He who keeps us gliding against wind currents which try to carry us off in the opposite direction we were meant to go.

Tumultuous perhaps are the seas in which we swim, but as salt keeps buoyant that which is within the waters, so too do we become dependent upon that saltiness. Salt and Light are from Him, and what might feel like an undercurrent could in reality be that which is meant to sustain...keeping us on course.

I once heard of a man who had been swept out to sea. The undertow had taken him to a place far from shore. He struggled to get back. First, he tried swimming his way through the current only to be pummeled and tossed about. A second time he tried with all his might to go up against the force which pushed him further out to sea...away from where he so desperately wanted to be. Finally, the third time, when he surrendered to the current…only then did he finally find himself back in calm waters.

“Just go with the flow” is a quote worth quoting. As we find ourselves in deep waters from time to time, understanding that it is only through the relinquishing of our own efforts that we will ever truly allow Him to have His way…which helps us find ours.

He knows what’s best as He alone is God. And thank God He is really good at being God. He leads, we follow. We need not follow blindly as His Word is our map. There are no secrets; there are no ulterior motives. There is no ill intent from the heart of a heavenly Father who longs to have and to hold and to pour out Love’s pure Light upon us.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 helps make sense of it all. “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.”  Amen.