The God Of All Comfort

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, one of my fondest memories is when a bright shiny day finally arrived, and I could view beautiful snow-capped Mt. Rainier.  It seemed so majestic, so high, and so insurmountable.  I was always very content to just drive around the mountain and look up at it – or occasionally hike up part way on one of the trails.

But what would it have looked like if I’d ever made it to the top?  I’m sure my whole outlook would have changed.  Because if I’d made it to the top, I could actually see everything all around me, for miles and miles.

Recently a friend shared portions of a devotional she’d read a couple weeks ago, which I haven’t been able to forget.  It’s based on Matthew 17:14-21, where the disciples are asking Jesus why they hadn’t been able to heal the demon-possessed boy when they prayed for him.  Why weren’t they able to hurdle over the mountain they had faced?

Jesus tells them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (v. 20-21, NKJV).

This has gotten me thinking:  “What mountains do I allow to stand in the way of what God wants to fulfill in my life?”

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Pretty much everyone has heard the story of how David, the young future king of Israel, stood up and defeated the giant Philistine enemy Goliath with just a sling and a stone (1 Samuel 17).  And this when he was probably only a young teenager!  That mountain certainly didn’t scare David.

And, of course, those familiar with David’s story know how even after he was anointed the future king of Israel by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 16:12-13), it took many years before he was actually seated on the throne.

But as I’ve been studying about this, I saw something I don’t think I’d ever noticed before.  Even before Samuel came into young David’s life, he had been having to overcome mountains within his own family – one of which:  Him being the least of all his brothers.

As you read through 1 Samuel 16, you’ll see that when God told Samuel to head to Bethlehem to anoint the new king, he was told to visit a man named Jesse who had eight sons.  God would show Samuel when he got there which son was to be anointed the next king of Israel.

When Samuel arrived, he invited Jesse to bring his sons and join him for the sacrificial offering.  Jesse arrived, but only brought seven of his sons.

It doesn’t appear that Samuel knew exactly how many sons Jesse had.  When he saw the boys, he immediately started with the oldest, Eliab.  “It must be him,” Samuel thought.  “This must be the young man God wants to anoint as the next king.”  But God told him otherwise: “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him.  For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (v. 7).

Eliab’s heart wasn’t where God wanted it to be.

Samuel continued down the line of Jesse’s sons:  “Him, Lord?  How about that one?”  But God kept telling him, “No.”  After Samuel had finished going through the lineup of Jesse’s boys, he was a little befuddled.  He asks Jesse, “Is this all of your sons?”  Jesse says, “Well, no, there’s still the youngest – but he is keeping the sheep” (v. 11).

Why didn’t Jesse bring David along in the first place?  Did he not feel David was worthy enough to join his older brothers for this great occasion with the prophet?  Surely the sheep would have been alright without him for awhile.  Scripture doesn’t explain why.

Regardless, David was finally sent for, and the Lord tells Samuel: “This is the man” (v. 12-13).

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So let’s think about this…

I’ve struggled with feelings of unworthiness for most of my life.  My mother did the best she could trying to raise me and my sister alone after our dad left when I was a young teen which must’ve been very hard.  But she was a perfectionist (and I wasn’t), whereby all I remember hearing was, “You didn’t do that right, so do it again.”  “You can’t wear that; it doesn’t look good.”  “Can’t you do anything right?”

I freely admit that I often allowed those verbal mountains to hit me full force in the face.  I have let “perceived” words of negativity make me into an ultra-sensitive mess sometimes.  I will hear words from someone and think they are aimed at me personally like fiery darts just to remind me how dumb I am, when it might be that they did not mean that at all!  Instead I should be choosing to remember the sweet, beautiful words from my Heavenly Father who tells me I am special and loved with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

David, on the other hand, didn’t allow the mountains in his life to overtake him.  He kept going no matter what, trusting that the God he knew and trusted would take care of him always, and that even when things didn’t make sense, he needed to stay the course.

It didn’t matter when his older brother, Eliab, sneered at him before he faced Goliath (Jeremiah 17:28).  He knew that his God was with him, not against him.

It didn’t matter that it took years before David took the throne – years in which he often had to run for his life.  And yes, there were times of fear and doubt, yet he believed; and he trusted that God knew what was best for him, even when things didn’t make sense.

My ending question to you:  What mountains are you staring at which are taking you away from what God may want to use you for?  Let’s you and I push them out of the way and allow our God to help us climb to the top.  A new year is looming ahead of us, and there is a lot of chaos going on in the world.  Yet, who ultimately is in control?  The King of kings, and Lord of Lords!

So those of you facing mountains, pray with me: “Lord, increase my faith!” (Luke 17:5).