Sometimes, “poor baby” just won’t cut it

2 Kings 8: 14

Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master.  When Ben-Hadad asked, “What did Elisha say to you?”  Hazael replied, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” NIV

I found this verse by plugging “worry” into Bible Gateway.com and searching, “The Message,” which translates this verse, “Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master who asked, “So, what did Elisha tell you?”  “He told me, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll live.'” MSG

This is part of the story that I looked at a few weeks ago.

Ben-Hadad is king, and he is sick.  So sick, that he fears that he will die.  When he hears that Elisha, the famous prophet, is somewhere near, he sends his servant to inquire of the prophet whether the king will survive what is ailing him.

Ben-Hadad is no doubt sick.  He’s also scared and worried — which likely isn’t helping his condition.

He wants someone to tell him that everything will be ok … preferably someone with a direct line to God, who will surely know the truth.

How often do we do that?  We are scared and worried, and we look for reassurance … from someone, anyone, who will tell us that everything will be all right.

Don’t get me wrong … I’m a firm believer in “poor baby.”  Sometimes, when things are going really, really poorly, I just need to dump all that out on someone that I love and hear them say, “poor baby.”  This is accompanied by an obligatory hug, after which I usually feel much better.

But, while “poor baby” is momentarily soothing, it doesn’t really change or fix anything.  Our only source of true comfort is found in our Heavenly Father.  And, we don’t have to wait for a prophet to visit the neighborhood.  Through Christ, we have the privilege of going directly to God, who has proven himself flawlessly trustworthy.

That’s a reason not to worry, and that’s what I’ll think about today.