Comfort for the Helpless

As I sat in my quiet place spending time with the Lord, I was mourning. Five days earlier, our dogs had run off and gotten lost.

Though we looked everywhere we could, we could not find them. We live in the country surrounded by thousands of acres of ranch and farmland; they could have been anywhere. We prayed that the Lord would guide them home. I had to accept the reality that they might never come home. I cried before the Lord in grief. I wasn’t crying in anger or regret; I was crying in sadness and helplessness.

I quoted Job 1:21 to myself several times: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (NKJV).

Nothing is impossible for our God! He knows the end from the beginning. So, as difficult as it was, I needed to trust in His answer to our prayers and submit to His will, but still, my heart was heavy with grief. Then I looked, and there was my cat, Pogo. He never comes to my quiet place. He sat right next to me, looking into my eyes. He rubbed his head against my arm. It was as if he were saying, “Don’t be sad; I’m here with you; you are not alone.” I felt the presence of God through our kitty.

I often play a Christian instrumental station on my phone while I spend my quiet time with God, and just then, the song “Abide with Me” played.

Again, I was comforted. Are you feeling alone or helpless, or are you mourning the loss of someone special in your life? Take a moment to know that our God is a God of comfort! Let Him wrap His arms of love and support around you.

It doesn’t take the trial away, but it makes it more bearable and gives you the strength to get through the day. Our world has a lot of pain and loss, but the day is coming very soon when that will all be gone forever. In the meantime, while we wait, remember: “The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you’” (Jeremiah 31:3, NKJV).

Mona Fellers