I Hear Donuts

Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4, KJV

I HAD BEEN HANDED the assignment of writing a sermon on finding comfort in the valleys of life. The problem is, when I hear the word comfort, I hear donuts. Sometimes I also hear cute shoes. Or ice cream. Or Fixer Upper marathons with Chip and Jo. But I have yet to find these in Psalm 23. Instead, we find a rod and a staff to comfort us. Which seems questionable at best.

A rod? A staff? I am not even sure what those are for. And my knowledge on shepherds ran out a long time ago. Can they actually be comforting?

It turns out, rods and staffs are pretty handy when it comes to the shadowy places that sheep can wander through while in a dark valley. A rod and a staff are tools of amazing grace.

I discovered while writing my sermon that a rod and staff have very different but very purposeful uses. The rod is a long, thick stick used for protection. When the Bible describes David’s days as a shepherd, we read that he beat back bears, lions, and wolves with a rod. He was in charge of the sheep, and under his care not one would be stolen or harmed.

When we walk our own dark valleys and do not understand how to navigate the rocky ravines, who can say what kind of protection our Shepherd has given us along the way? What wolves has He beaten back so we are safe? What lions threaten to harm us but scatter at the sight of His rod? We may never know. But I love the comfort the rod brings.

The staff is quite different from the rod. It is sometimes also called a shepherd’s crook. While the rod is meant for protection, the staff is meant for correction. If sheep wander off in the dark valley, the shepherd uses the hook to bring them back to his side where they are safe. The staff signifies intimacy, closeness, safety.

I have wandered Target aisles and eaten various pans of brownies in hopes of finding comfort when I am low. And midbite of my twelfth brownie, I have experienced the shepherd’s staff pulling me away from my own solutions toward my contentment and back to His side. Back to Him. I have been caught in moments of anxiety and fear, and His staff has hooked my heart and pulled me out of my despair. What gifts of grace—the rod and staff. So much more useful than donuts.

You know what looks amazing on you? A shepherd’s hook around your waist, pulling you back to your Shepherd.

GRACE REFLECTION: What is your go-to comfort? Now imagine seeing Jesus, arms wide open, ready to comfort you. Ask God to shift your gaze and your go-to reflex to Him.