Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion, and the God of ALL COMFORT, who comforts us in all our troubles.  Isn’t it awesome that God Almighty, the God who holds everything together is also the God of All Comfort.  Almighty God wants to comfort us in all our troubles.

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While riding my horse in the Arizona desert this winter, the huge Saguaro cactus were fascinating.  They grow so tall and their arms reach out like they want to hold something, but you don’t want to touch them because of their sharp needle-like spines. In one of the larger cactus was a bird’s nest;  with the branches of the cactus surrounding it.  The bird would be safe from her enemy, the coyote, in the arms of the cactus. 

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You are my hiding place from every storm of life;

you even keep me from getting into trouble! ​

Psalm 32:7​

 

So what does the large Saguaro cactus with outreaching arms, the bird with the nest firmly nestled in the arms, and the coyote have to do with God’s comfort?

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God uses His creation to explain His character to us.  (Romans 1:21)  For this story the cactus represents God.  It is impenetrable to the coyote. God wants to be our hiding place from every storm of life.  He wants to keep us out of trouble. (Psalm 32:7)

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The coyote wants to devour the bird.  In this story the coyote represents the devil.  The Bible tells us that our enemy the devil, is like a lion, prowling around, seeking whom he may devour.  (1 Peter 5:8)

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The bird resting safely in the arms of the cactus, can be any child of God.  In Isaiah 66:13 God tells us that as a mother comforts her child, so He will comfort us.
 
God is like the cactus in that He is all powerful to protect us from our enemy.  Like the bird we are comforted when we choose to rest in His Everlasting Arms.  (Psalm 73:28)

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If the bird had chosen to put her nest somewhere else, perhaps in a Palo Verde tree, then the same comfort wouldn’t be available to her.  Why you may ask?  Because the Palo Verde can’t keep the coyote away. This wise and beautiful bird chose to put herself in the arms of the cactus. And each child of God must choose to place themselves in the Everlasting Arms of God Almighty to receive all of the comfort and protection He wants to give.

 

"But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge." ​

(Psalm 73:28)