“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

David knew from experience the equipment a good shepherd carried.
A rod was used to fend off predators and protect the sheep from danger.
A staff was used to guide the flock and keep them from going off the path.

David’s comfort came from the knowledge
that his Shepherd was protecting him and guiding him.

We call our favorite cozy blankets “comforters”.
We call home-style food that brings thoughts of childhood “comfort food”.
When Jesus introduced the Holy Spirit,
He used the nickname “The Comforter”.
(John 14:26, KJV)

Unlike a blanket that wears out,
and unlike the fleeting satisfaction of a favorite meal,
this Comforter settles our spirits and reassures our fears from the inside.

We are definitely out of our comfort zones right now.
That uneasiness we feel in our guts is real.
We need to know where to go for such a time as this.
Go to the Comforter.
Then pass some of that comfort on to others.

“God does not comfort us to make us comfortable,
but to make us comforters.”
Dr. John Henry Jowett