COMFORT
Today's reading:  Jeremiah 37-41

"Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.  Then when Jeremiah was ready, they pulled him out.  So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard-the palace prison-where he remained."  Jeremiah 38:12-13 NLT

A man named Ebed-melech?

Dirty rags and discarded clothing?

Armpits?  Seriously?

In the Hebrews, it's referred to as the joint-places.  The spot where ligaments and tendons are carefully and skillfully joined together.  The womb-knitted areas referred to in the psalms.

God certainly works in mysterious ways, doesn't He?

Jeremiah had been left to die in a prison pit, yet God moved in the heart of Ebed-melech to help him.  Not to free him, but to get him out of the pit and back into the prison yard.  Ebed-melech even thought of Jeremiah's comfort as he gathered up old rags to relieve the pain of the ropes needing to be used to get him out.

Isn't that just like God?

He delights in comforting us in the little ways as He walks beside us during the tough times!

He cares about our comfort, but He cares much much more about our witness to those around us!  He uses kind words, cards in the mail, songs or verses to give bits of respite.  So many things He's intending us to learn as we endure certain things, but He does not leave us comfortless.  He wants us knowing He is there.

That's my prayer for you today...that you'll notice when God chooses to give 'relief to your armpits'!