Comfort and Safety

“We are here for your comfort and primarily for your safety.”

These words from the flight attendant rang through the Southwest Airlines aircraft preparing to take off. This is reassuring to hear when you’re about to be speeding through the air at a rate of thousands of miles per hour for a few hours, but when I heard this statement, a thought came to my mind: this is how a lot of people treat God. 

Many people seek God and call themselves Christians out of concern for what God can do for them, not what they can do for God. We pray for comfort and physical safety while forgetting that God may call us out of our comfort zone and into places where we may not feel safe. 

Please don’t get me wrong – God does provide comfort and safety. But this may not come in the way that we would like. 

In 2 Corinthians 1:3b-4, the Bible describes God as the “God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we are comforted by God.” This, however, is addressed in the context of suffering. God promises comfort when we are afflicted. Suffering is promised to the believer, but we can suffer with hope and comfort because of Jesus, who suffered the cross for us, making it possible for us to draw near to Him in our trials.

But why do we suffer? Why doesn’t God promise us safety? 

I certainly believe that God does provide physical protection, and it is okay to pray for that, especially when you or somebody else are traveling. But this is not God’s primary concern. There are men and women who have been in unsafe places on the globe and have lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus, fulfilling God’s plan for salvation, suffered death and torture at the cross. 

God offers us something even better than physical safety: eternal security. Although the protection and preservation of our body here on earth is never promised, we have a much greater guarantee. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). 

Is God here for our comfort and safety? He will certainly provide these, but first and foremost, He is here for our salvation and our security. God promises eternal comfort and peace in Him. We must remember that we are here for His glory, not just to receive whatever good things God wants to give to His children. 

Do you know Him? God loves you and longs to give you comfort in your trials and peace that lasts beyond this life. This does not mean that life will be easy, but it does mean that He will walk through it with you. If you don’t know Jesus personally, please come to Him who suffered affliction so that you might have life. 

“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3