“Be Able to Comfort” – “Trust in Me” – “God has Power (7000)” – “Draw Near” – “Not Like Christ”

Back when I was new to all this, I made a list of topic ideas. Five years later I still have not completed each of those and at this rate, I may never.  My mentor asked me today how my spiritual life would change with the summer. I had never considered the season to be an impact. I know the church does not do stuff as much on Wednesdays in the summer, but I never really thought of Wednesday’s as being particularly spiritual; but I grew up Methodist, so what do I know. Tonight is the Astros home opener, maybe I traditionally have other things to do on Wednesdays.

The highlight of this week’s phrases is “Trust in Me” and is a command by God to His followers. In our finance class last night, I was telling a student that many times we neglect to ask God to do something supernatural in response to our prayers. God has performed miracles when we prayed, but often time we only ask for the everyday. I want to trust in God, and I want to see miracles happen. I need to change the way I pray.

I try not to relate the phrases back to the source scripture, but I did put the 7000 in “God has Power” to allude to something specific. Probably because of Marvel using the term 3000 for how much Iron Man’s daughter loved him, but it is the perfect number (7) taken to an unimaginable level (1000). God is all powerful and I know it, but as alluded to in my praying for miracles, sometimes, I forget that He is all powerful. We pray for overcoming vertigo, and thank Him for it. We pray for a parking spot, and hopefully we thank Him for it. We hope for a something, and maybe we have no gratitude.

I am “Not Like Christ” is not the direction I intended the phrase to lead. The world is not like Christ. Other religions are not like Christ. Businesses are not like Christ. Governments are not like Christ. Other people are not like Christ. Those things that others try to provide us are not like what Christ provides. Safety is not what Christ provides. A minimum income is not what Christ provides. Peace (the absence of war) is not what Christ provides. Protection from crooks or despots is not what Christ provides. Niceties is not what Christ provides. There is an old marketing phrase – “Porsche – There is no substitute.” But the phrase really is “Jesus – There is no substitute.”

One of the “things” that God provides is comfort. You cannot buy it and you cannot sell it, so many times its value is overlooked. But we all need it, and Christ tells us to “Draw Near” to Him to receive it, and everything else He provides. Yesterday I was having a hard time relaxing, and it was not until I was in class talking about Christ that I was comforted. All I had to do was draw near.

“Be able to comfort” seems like a rerun to me, but maybe I did not get it last time. Just as I needed comfort yesterday, those around us need it as well. My kid needed some today. One of my class members needed it last night. Probably everyone I saw today needed it too. Beyond the knowledge of trying to share the comfort of Christ, I see that maybe I need to be more aware of the need around me, and be more sensitive to it. To see is to begin to provide.