Security is a Thumb and a Blanket…

1 LORD, my heart is not haughty,

Nor my eyes lofty.

Neither do I concern myself with great matters,

Nor with things too profound for me.

2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,

Like a weaned child with his mother;

Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3 O Israel, hope in the LORD

From this time forth and forever.—Psalm 131

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.—2 Corinthians 1:3-5

As a child I can remember quieting and comforting myself by sucking my thumb.  As long as I had my thumb, I didnt cry or fret.  At that moment, all was right in my world, and I truly understood Charles Schulz’s famous character, Linus’ sentiment:

“Security is a thumb and a blanket.”

As a grown woman, I have put away childish securities and comforts.  Today my consolation as a child of God is my Jesus who gave me His very heart when He gave me His Spirit.  I am never alone...His consoling Spirit is with me always...guiding, directing and comforting.  I can go boldly to His throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help whenever I need it.  My security is in Christ.  He is my hope.  He is my guide even unto death.  

Today, I will surrender and abide.  Today, my soul will wait silently for Him.  I will trust that He knows the way I take, and that He will get me where I need to go.

In closing, I am including an excerpt from Dane Ortlund’s book, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers.  Thomas Goodwin is being quoted from his book, The Heart of Christ and is here reflecting on John 6:16— “Sorrow has filled your heart”

“My father and I have but only one friend, who lies in the bosom of us both, and proceeds from us both, the Holy Ghost, and in the meantime I will send him to you. . . . He shall be a better Comforter unto you than I am to be. . . . He will comfort you better than I should do with my bodily presence.” In what way is the Spirit a superior comforter to God’s people? “He shall tell you, if you will listen to him, and not grieve him, nothing but stories of my love. . . . All his speech in your hearts will be to advance me, and to greaten my worth and love unto you, and it will be his delight to do it.”

Goodwin then makes the explicit connection to Christ’s heart:

“So that you shall have my heart as surely and as speedily as if I were with you; and he will be continually breaking your hearts, either with my love to you, or yours to me, or both. . . . He will tell you, when I am in heaven, that there is as true a conjunction between me and you, and as true a dearness of affection in me towards you, as is between my Father and me, and that it is as impossible to break this knot, and to take off my heart from you, as my Father’s from me.”

Beloved, as you read the verses below, allow the Lord to minister to your heart as the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to bring you comfort and direct your path. 

7 In my distress I called upon the LORD,

And cried out to my God;

He heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry entered His ears.

14 "The LORD thundered from heaven,

And the Most High uttered His voice.

17 "He sent from above, He took me,

He drew me out of many waters.

18 He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me;

For they were too strong for me.

19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

But the LORD was my support.

20 He also brought me out into a broad place;

He delivered me because He delighted in me.

29 "For You are my lamp, O LORD;

The LORD shall enlighten my darkness.

30 For by You I can run against a troop;

By my God I can leap over a wall.

31 As for God, His way is perfect;

The word of the LORD is proven;

He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

32 "For who is God, except the LORD?

And who is a rock, except our God?

33 God is my strength and power,fn

And He makes my way perfect.

34 He makes my feet like the feet of deer,

36 "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation;

Your gentleness has made me great.

37 You enlarged my path under me;

So my feet did not slip.

40 For You have armed me with strength for the battle;

You have subdued under me those who rose against me.

47 “The LORD lives!

Blessed be my Rock!

Let God be exalted,

The Rock of my salvation!—Psalm 18:14; 17-20; 29-34; 36-37; 40; 47

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 8:38-39

5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;

Yes, our God is merciful.

6 The LORD preserves the simple;

I was brought low, and He saved me.

7 Return to your rest, O my soul,

For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For You have delivered my soul from death,

My eyes from tears,

And my feet from falling.

9 I will walk before the LORD

In the land of the living.—Psalm 116