I thought it might be an encouragement to many of my newer readers to read about a personal incident in my life that shows just how comforting the Bible can be. The devotion below was originally posted on September 13, 2020.
Life is full of trials, tragedies, and triumphs. When things are going well there is little need for comfort from family and friends. But when we are going through a difficult trial or perhaps a tragedy, like the loss of a loved one, we instinctively turn to others for a word of comfort or just a shoulder to lean on. Painful circumstances call for comfort and when the pain is so great that our network of people sometimes fall short in providing words of encouragement, we can always turn to the Word of God to provide just the words we need to help us pull through and deal with the pain.
Sadly, many people turn to the Bible as a last resort to the comforting answers they are looking for instead of consulting with God first. But there is something uniquely powerful and soothing that only the Bible can provide us with when we need deep comfort. Remember that God made us and He more than anyone else knows what we need when trials and tragedies strike.
And the amazing thing about the Bible is that it can provide comfort to those who know Jesus as well as those that do not; as I can personally attest to. Back in 1975 I was working as a security stock analyst in Stamford, Connecticut. I had recently graduated from college and had a great job. The only problem was I was living with my parents in Manhattan and had a two-hour commute to work each way. So, I decided to move to Stamford. I rented a room in the Stamford YMCA and went about looking for an apartment near my job. The one thing I vividly remember was that I was very lonely and depressed while staying at the YMCA. But I will never forget that one evening I opened my dresser draw and saw a Gideon Bible.
Back then I was an atheist and would never have opened a Bible if people were around. But I was curious, and no one was around, and right there in the front of the Bible one page said if you need help in time of need to turn to the following Bible verses depending on your need. Well as I said I was lonely and depressed and right there in the Gideon Bible it gave me verses to read for both problems. So, there I was an atheist going to the Bible looking for comfort. And you know what, when I read the verses, I felt a great deal of comfort. To me this speaks powerfully about the ability of the Bible to offer comfort. I didn’t even believe the Bible was a book of truth but, yet it spoke to my heart, even as an atheist. If the Bible can comfort an atheist, who didn’t even believe in God, how much more comfort can it bring to those that have a personal relationship with Him.
It would be six more years from that point to when I eventually gave my heart to Jesus but the seeds that night were already being planted. Honestly, it has been 45 years since that time and I can’t remember what verses I read but I still, 45 years later, remember the impact the Holy Scriptures had on my heart.
I just looked at my Gideon Bible to see what verses I must have read under the topic of depression and here are the ones listed:
(Psalm 34:4): “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
(Psalm 40:1-2): “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
(Psalm 43:5): “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
What beautiful words of comfort when we are going through a trial or a storm. Yes, we need people to offer us comfort but only God can truly pull us through. God made you and me and He knows exactly what to share with us when we are in deep need. Andrew Jackson, our seventh President of the United States, shared just how comforting the Bible can be when he said: “Go to the Scriptures…the joyful promises it contains will be a balsam to all your troubles.”1
1 The Rebirth of America (Philadelphia: Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation, 1986), p. 37.
SO glad you turned to the Bible that day Curt!
Elaine