Need Comfort? Just Ask

(photo credit)

I vividly remember the moment it happened. I was alone in my car on the freeway.

I’d just spent the day with my sisters and their families. Spending time with them brings me a lot of joy, but it’s bittersweet. I love them all dearly, and we’re so close and have so much fun together. That’s the “sweet” part. The “bitter” part is that my husband is no longer a part of this loving and fun group--by choice.

I’ve been with my husband since I was 15 years old, but I’ve known him since I was 12. He’s been a part of my amazing family for a very long time. He was even best friends with my sister’s husband since he was 11 years old.

When I’m with my family, and my husband is not, I feel a strong and uncomfortable feeling of loss. A poor comparison would be the “phantom limb” phenomenon.

And so it was on that day, alone in the car on the freeway, when sadness overwhelmed me. I began weeping uncontrollably. I cried so hard I could barely see the lanes in front of me. As I cried, I remembered words Joyce Meyer had spoken in one of her teachings. (I wish I remembered which one so I could share it.) While talking about comfort, Meyer said something like this: “If you ever need comfort, just ask God. Say, ‘God, I need your comfort.’”

What did I have to lose? Right there in my car, I cried out, “God, I need your comfort.”

Suddenly, I stopped crying. My shaking body that had been wracked with sobs was now still. Warmth and peace came over me. I can only describe it as supernatural. God’s comfort came to me the moment I asked in my desperate need...in my moment of deep despair, sadness, and loss. 

It was proof that I wasn’t in this alone. For a short time after my husband left me, I felt alone. Thankfully I realized I’ve never been alone--God was always with me, even when I didn’t acknowledge Him, thank Him, or ask His opinion. He’s there for you, too, right now.

I’ve learned that God never promised to keep every storm away from us, but He does promise to walk through the storms with us. He was there to wrap me in comfort--all I had to do was ask.

Have you ever felt absolutely alone? Have you ever desperately needed comfort? In your time of need, I urge you to simply ask God to comfort you.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

Until next time...