My Promise to You Jesusናሙና

Consolations

When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. Psalm 94:18-19 (ESV)

When I read this passage, I can look back and see the numerous times in my life that my “foot slipped” and the Lord held me up. For those of you who have walked in dangerous places, you know a foot slip can lead to death or injury. Having the faithful hand of a friend or companion to steady us when we slip can become a lifesaving help. But “foot slippage” in this passage is a metaphor for many other areas of slip-ups, from physical, to morality, to ethical, to mistakes of all kinds. As I look back, I can actually identify many times that God’s steadfast love helped me navigate the dangers of choices I made and those made for me. As a healthy endeavor, look back on your own life and see the numerous times God held you up in distressing times and got you through them. If you are like me, it will assure you that He is faithful in the past, the present, and the future, and this consoles us. This leads me to my next thought. Concentrate on these words in the passage:

“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” Psalm 94:19 (ESV)

Have you ever needed consolation? When you did, was it not words of hope and encouragement that consoled you? Do you remember the relief when a doctor comes from surgery and tells you that it went well and he or she will have a full recovery? Do you remember how it removed a heavy weight of fear and worry just to hear the doctor say that all would be well? This is the kind of relief and consolation that Jesus wants to give us, and His consolations will cheer the deepest part of our being. They cheer our souls, which is pointed out in the passage.

Now to a challenging question. Why do we gladly embrace the encouraging words of a doctor or friend and find comfort from them but not readily embrace consolations from God that He speaks of in His promises? Do we put our faith in the flesh over Spirit, man over God, and science over faith? What must we do to accept the consolations that God’s promises will give to us, for shouldn’t they be the best consolations a Christian can find? The truth is it always comes down to our faith. Faith is the eye of the soul as surely as our eyes are for our body. With our faith, we “see” the Lord’s assurances, we connect with His promises, and if we do so, our soul finds consolation.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

I’ve often heard the words that he or she is inconsolable. No matter what is said, the person will not receive consolation. Instead, they bear down and hold tight to their despair. What a shame that God’s child would do such a thing when the Father’s desire is to console His child when the cares of our hearts overload us. He knows our wiring and makeup, for He created us. No one can plummet the depth of our emotional, spiritual and mental anguish and know what to bring for our needs better than Him. But will we allow Him to console us?

I know that God wants to show us that He cares and will help us. But he doesn’t want us to become carefree, for we would be out of touch with reality and other people needing comfort. He doesn’t want us to become careless, for we would forsake our sense of responsibility and alertness to the needs around us, including our own.

Instead, I believe God wants His children to become care-consoled. If we will seek it, God will enter our point of need with His promise that has been specifically given for the need we are facing, and it will guide us as a map does. Therefore, we should search the scriptures to find the promise He wants to give to us, for it will be a word of consolation for our weary souls. We should embrace it by our faith, for in doing so, we take hold of it. Then we will receive the promised benefit. We will be consoled at the soul level.

“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” Psalm 94:19 (ESV)