God uses metaphors in the Bible to help us understand his role in our lives and the world.
For example, God the Father is identified as the potter, while we are the clay. Jesus is called the bread of life and the light of the world. The Holy Spirit is likened to breath and wind.
Many metaphors depict how God relates to us during distress.
These terms include comforter, counselor, defender, deliverer, fortress, friend, healer, helper, hope, provider, refuge, rock, shade, shelter, shepherd, shield, strength, stronghold, strong tower, sun, and warrior.
God does not embody every nuance implicit in these figures of speech.
For example, he does not produce personal shade for us by blocking the sun. He does not physically herd us like sheep.
Nonetheless, these metaphors aptly affirm God’s promise to help us endure our afflictions, to produce goodness from them, and to resolve them as he deems best.
They assure us amid affliction that as we walk in harmony with him, he intends to come to our aid in a manner that will eventually compel us to use these terms to describe what he means to us.
In time, we will say that God truly is:
- my comforter,
- my counselor,
- my defender,
- my deliverer,
- my fortress;
- my friend,
- my healer,
- my helper,
- my hope,
- my provider,
- my refuge,
- my rock,
- my shade,
- my shelter,
- my shepherd,
- my shield,
- my strength,
- my stronghold,
- my strong tower,
- my sun, and
- my warrior.
