Where Do We Turn For Comfort?

This world offers many things to turn to for comfort. But they won’t satisfy us the way God can.

I recently embarked on a 21-day all-sugar fast with a small group of women. Not only did we remove refined sugars, but we went so far as to remove every form of sugar, down to fruit. Before we began our journey, we were asked several questions about why we were doing this and what our hopes and intended outcomes were.

It was beautiful to do this with a few cherished friends. While each of our specific reasons for doing this was a little bit different, much of what we all wanted could be boiled down to what Paul offers us in Romans 1.

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12:1-2 Message)

The last twelve months have been some of my life’s most intense, stressful periods. Our family has gone through a significant transition in adding a child to our home through adoption, and as is true with most things in life, transitions like this can be both beautiful and can stretch farther than we ever thought possible. Amid all the transition and accumulating stress, I lost track of a lasting place to run when I needed comfort.

These things can be tricky. On the one hand, there is a tremendous amount of compassion for the times our bodies get us through seasons of life and times of suffering that put us on our backs. I’m amazed at how our bodies can handle stress and carry us even when we lose sight of treating them with care—for any reason. On the other hand, though, as those seasons pass, or as we settle into them more, a realization comes as we see here in Romans.

God is in our every day—in our mundane, rejoicing, and suffering. He’s there when we feel like we can’t continue. He’s there when we run to Him, and He’s there when we find comfort in things that are less than Him. I had come to a place where I knew I was not embracing God’s best for me, no matter my circumstances. Simply put, I had come to the end of myself. Looking back, it is clear that God ordained a moment for me to be with some trusted friends, some of whom did this fast with me. We had been together for the weekend, and one night around the hot tub, I could confess to them exactly where I was. I told them I was tired and ashamed and wanted a better way to get through his season of life. What happened next was beautiful. At that moment, there was no condemnation. Though they agreed that there was a better way, they spoke truth to me in love. Confession is always powerful. It is the gateway back to the narrow road.

I mentioned that we were asked why we did this before we began. For me, it was simple. I desperately wanted to be made new. Again. Part of the beauty of our walk with the Lord is that we can begin again. And again. And again.

What happened from there has been a thing of beauty and an act of great grace. As is almost always the case, others had a sense that there was a better way. As followers of the Way, and as Paul stated so well in this passage in Romans, we wanted to be made new from the inside out. So we started there and journeyed together for 21 days. We are still a work in progress, still being made new, but I can tell you clearly that Jesus is our ultimate comfort. He is trustworthy and reliable.

In His Word

Meditate on Isaiah 26:3-4 : “You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you. Trust in the Lord forever, because in the Lord, the Lord himself, is an everlasting rock!”

In Your Life

Take some time before the Lord to ask Him where you may be running for comfort that isn’t in Him. Allow for some time to sit and listen. He is faithful in revealing those areas with great compassion and mercy. Then ask, what is one thing you can do to begin again.

We Recommend

Alisa Keeton founded Revelation Wellness, a Christ-centered organization that teaches us how to live free in our bodies. She also wrote The Body Revelation: Physical and Spiritual Practices to Metabolize Pain, Banish Shame, and Connect to God with Your Whole Self. Both offer powerful faith-based training and insights for body, mind, and spirit.

Let’s Connect

You can follow Julie on Instagram, where she shares mostly about her family, life, and beauty. She also writes a monthly newsletter called Evergreen on Substack.