When I was a little shaver, I had two stuffed bears. There was a small one that was all black and white. He was all black except for his torso and snout, which were white. His name was Teddy (quite original eh?) I also had a much bigger bear, about twice the size of Teddy, whose name was Appleseed. He was brown and yellow. Again, his coloring was all brown, except that his torso and snout were yellow. I slept with those guys every night. I remember snuggling into bed with one bear under each arm. Initially, when you hear this story, it seems as if I needed those bears for security, and it’s probably true. The fact is though, that there is more to the story. When I was small, I slept in a big double bed with my brother (Hi Tim!). It’s not like I was in my room, in the dark, all alone. I wasn’t even in bed alone. This did not change the fact, however, that I never wanted to go to bed without those bears snuggled in close to me. The truth is that I received comfort from the bears and not my brother. In fact, those bears were going to comfort me, and as far as I was concerned, my brother was just going to have to fend for himself, over there on the other side of the bed.
I didn’t understand that although my brother was only about 10 years old at the time, he was still 5 years older than me, and he was also quite likely capable of putting up a better fight than were those bears. I had mistakenly put my hope in the wrong place. This was not only a result of my naivety, but it was also the result of the comfort which I believed that I felt when I had my Teddy Bears there to protect me. Certainly, I had my facts wrong, but it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to convince me otherwise at the time, due in large part to that feeling of comfort, which I sensed when my bears were present.
I wonder how many times this same scenario has replayed itself in my life since those childhood days. I wonder how many times I have not looked in the right place to find my true comfort and strength, all because I felt comforted or strengthened by some means, which truly did not have the power to protect, or strengthen me. How many times have I simply responded to my feelings, rather than reality? I also wonder to what degree having those bears as a comfort, contributed to developing my understanding of that false feeling of comfort, which then carried over into my adult life. Later, when grown, I kept up the pattern of responding to what felt like it comforted me, rather than moving past my feelings and into truth. The truth, according to Christ, is that He is truth. John 14:6 – I am the way, the truth and the life….. I wonder how common this deception is to mankind. It has become all too easy in this modern world to find comfort in what feels comforting to us, rather than pushing beyond our mere feelings and finding the true comfort of God’s truth, in all situations. The fact is that just as my big brother was there with me so many years ago, so God is here with us, always near at hand to comfort us in the truth, no matter what, no matter where. I vote that we start today to remember to look for God and His truth in each situation, rather than trying to rely on teddy bears and feelings. Also, don’t be too surprised if in your hour of need God sends a brother to bring you comfort. Blessings!

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