A Dentist Story

I have a good friend who is a talented dentist.  He's a great guy.  And I would recommend him to anyone who needs dental care.

One day I went to his office for a checkup.  When he was finishing up, he noticed I needed a little extra work done on one tooth.  I quickly agreed to go ahead and get it done right then and there.  When he explained to me what needed to be done, I decided to have it done WITHOUT getting my tooth numbed.  He offered to numb it so I wouldn't feel any discomfort, but I said, "No, I'll be fine without it."

For the first couple of minutes I was feeling alright while he was working on me.  But then I felt some pain.  He quickly offered again to numb my tooth.  But I again told him, "No thanks, I'll get through without it."  So he went back to work, and I felt the pain return.  Fortunately, he finished up his work quickly and successfully.  As usual, he did a really good job and handled my dental needs like a pro.  And I did make it through the procedure.  But man oh man, I sure could have made it easier on myself!

See, the good dentist did his job.  He offered a form of medical comfort for me several times.  The problem was me.  All I had to do was accept his repeated offer of relief, and I would have been ok.  But I chose to get through it on my own.  

You know, as I think about that experience, I realize a lot of us do the same thing with God.  He offers us comfort for the hurts of life.   Paul states the following in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 :  "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."  Through His Holy Spirit, the Bible, and other believers, God is ready and willing to soothe our aches and comfort our hearts.  This doesn't mean we won't go through difficulties.  But this does mean He will calm and help us with what we need in the midst of difficulties. 

The choice we have to make is this:  Will we let God comfort us, or will we hurt more than necessary because we try to get through on our own?  Each of us has to make this choice for ourselves.

Life can be tough at times.  Difficulties creep into everyone's corner of the world occasionally.  When this happens, let's cry out to God in prayer, admit our need for Him, and welcome His comfort into our hearts and minds.  This soothing work will be exactly what we need in the midst of our hardship, and it will see us through to the other side.

I've learned from experience to say "Yes, please!" when the dentist offers medical comfort.  On a far greater note, may we all say "Yes, please!" when God offers spiritual comfort.  It's exactly what we need when we go through painful seasons in the journey of life.