Wrapped Up!
When one of my nephews was very small, he had a “blankey”
that went everywhere with him – rather like Linus from the Charlie Brown
cartoon series. There was no bedtime without his “blankey” and if he was upset
at all, “blankey” brought great comfort. It took a long time before “blankey”
was left behind. One of the other boys had a very battered bear called Paddy
who worked the same “magic”. The
favourite toy or the security blanket make us smile. Yet even though eventually
both boys left their comfort symbols behind, I suspect deep inside all of us,
even toughened adults, we continue to seek
for a “blankey”, especially when circumstances become stressful. The desire for comfort and security, the
desire to be “wrapped” up in warmth and love is very deep. We might look tough, act tough but…..I
suspect we are still that small child needing solace in their blankey.
One of the wonderful things in knowing God, is discovering
his tender heart towards us. A heart that wants to wrap us up in love and provide
the comfort we seek. There is echoes of
this throughout the Bible - in the
repeated phrases of “fear not, I am with you” or the images of God’s parent
love reaching out to embrace us. Jesus talked about this in his parables and in
his own words of comfort to his fearful disciples. He even promised to send the
Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be with them and confirm that He would be with
them even to the end of all things. It is there in Paul’s words describing God
as “the God of all comfort, who comforts us with the comfort we need.”
The Passion Translation of Pslam 62:5-8 captures this idea
of being wrapped in God so beautifully;
I am standing in
absolute stillness, silent before the one I love,
waiting as long as it takes for
him to rescue me.
Only God is my Savior, and he
will not fail me.
6 For he alone is my safe place.
His wrap-around presence always
protects me
as my champion defender.
There’s no risk of failure with
God!
So why would I let worry
paralyze me,
even when troubles multiply
around me?
7 God’s glory is all around me!
His wrap-around presence is all
I need,
for the Lord is my Savior, my
hero, and my life-giving strength.
8 Join me, everyone! Trust only in God every moment!
Tell him all your troubles and
pour out your heart-longings to him.
Believe me when I tell you—he
will help you!
God’s “wrap
around presence” conveys the warmth, love, security, and comfort of a
“blankey”!
I sat the other
day, just as this psalm said, in silence, picturing this wrap-around presence
of God as a blanket and soaking in the language of love this psalm
implies. I was tired and weary with the
intensity of daily life. How good it was to sink into the comfort of God’s
love, to wrap myself in His presence. To pull that “blankey” of comfort around
me. When we feel like this, when life
overwhelms us, may I encourage you to do the same and sink into the blanket of
God’s love. Wrap yourself in His
presence. As the psalm continues, it
acknowledges the troubles and difficulties that life throws at us but sees God
as our champion and our defender. How good is it to have God in your corner
championing you. See Him as your saviour,
hero and your life-giving strength. Hug
that blanket tight. You can pour out
your trouble, your heart longings, and your concerns to him.
There is no shame
in admitting we all need a hug, or the warmth of a blanket. The truth is that, Father God knows this and
offers it to us. We just need to reach
out and take it.
As I sat enjoying
this Psalm, the words and image of being wrapped in God’s love sunk deeper into
my being. It filled my tank. Later, I
listened to friends and strangers sharing their struggles, their weariness with
me. I wanted to reach out and hug them –
to whisper that God’s wrap-around-presence was with them now, this minute, to
embrace it and rest. So I did.
Come share the
blanket – it’s big enough for all of us.
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