Our Father's Love

One night a few weeks ago I was in a deep sleep. All of a sudden, I woke up because I heard my sweet son crying from his room. It wasn’t a panicked screaming sort of cry but it was loud. I was so tired that I yelled for him to come to our bedroom but he simply continued crying. Instinctively, I knew what was wrong.  I was a little more awake then and I remembered hearing this cry before.  I got up and walked to his bedroom.  I found him sitting straight up in his bed, eyes closed and crying this deep, hoarse cry. I scooped him up, carried him to the bathroom and stood him up in front of the toilet. Yes, that's right. He had to pee but he was so tired that he couldn't muster the energy to walk himself to the bathroom.  As he stood there, his eyes remained closed while he relieved himself. I stood very closely by him, making sure that he wouldn’t fall over.

After I went back to bed, I kept replaying the scene of what had just happened, over and over, in my head. I was then reminded of God’s love for us. It made me think of how God is also able to recognize each one of our cries. We don’t even have to say a word for Him to know exactly what we need. And because He is our Daddy, He gladly comes to us right where we are.  He understands that there are times when we do not have the strength to get up on our own. It is then, that He scoops us up into His loving arms and helps us with our problem.

Isn’t God amazing?  Every time I think about how much I love each one of my kids, I’m reminded that God loves me so much more than that!  That is so hard for me to imagine! Thinking about what happened with my son, God pointed something else out to me. You see, I went to my son. I carried him to the restroom. I stood him up where he needed to be. However, I couldn’t do the final part for him. Once I carried him and placed him where he needed to be, he was then able to take care of his problem.  I know that seems obvious but this concept applies to many situations that we face in our lives. What God has shown me time and time again is that many of the things that I have prayed for, I have had to submit to God and yield to His ways. I have had to allow Him to change something within me so that I could then solve that issue in my life. In other words, what I didn’t have the strength or ability to do on my own, God did for me. He carried me. He changed me. He got me to a place where the problem became manageable for me to handle. Yet, He was still there by my side. He was ready to catch me in case I fell. 

God desires to help solve every single one of your problems.  His love for you hates to see you suffering. But as loving as He is, He is also not a God of shortcuts. His love for you will not allow Him to simply put a band-aid solution over your problem. When God works in our lives, His goal is to create a lasting change in us. He desires to create a change of heart, a change of perspective, a change of thinking so deep that we will know how to deal with a similar situation every time that it reappears in our lives.  God wants to prepare us for real life. Real life means that we will face troubles in this world (John 16:33). We were all created with specific weaknesses.  However, there is a way to overcome them—with God’s help. When we try to change in our own strength, the change will not last. When we seek God to help us, He empowers us by His grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

Listen, God sees you. That problem that you’ve been dealing with for a long time now, He desperately desires to help you. But you need to surrender it all to Him. You must allow Him to fully invade your heart. You must be obedient and yield to His will, to His ways. He wants to do work in you before He can work through you. Humble yourself before Him. Don’t try to do in your life what is meant for God to do. The more that you learn to let go and let God, the more that you will begin to experience His glory and His majesty! He will leave you in amazing awe of who He is. You will fall in love in a way that will leave you desiring to be in His presence at all times. The great news is that you can live life that way! God already knows every single intimate detail about you. He created you. He knows how many strands of hair are on your head. He recognizes every one of your cries.  Just as intimately as He knows you, He so desires for you to know Him. The way to know Him is by spending time with Him. Read His beautiful, perfect, Living Word. Find a church that teaches the truths from His Word.  Cry out to Him. Pray. Be transparent with Him. Praise Him. Worship Him. Lastly, yield to Him, in every way.

Allow me to pray for you:

 “Abba Father, thank you for loving us so much. Thank you that you created us uniquely and perfectly in your image. I thank you for your willingness to step in and rescue us from every hurtful situation. I thank you that you never leave us, nor forsake us. I thank you that you are for us and not against us. I thank you that there is nothing that can separate us from your love. Father, forgive us, for every time that we have cried out to you and later attempted to solve our problem in our own strength and ability. Father, forgive us for failing to recognize that your ways are higher and designed to create a lasting change in us. Help us to yield to your will in our lives. Give us a desire in our hearts to be obedient to you, Lord. Give us discernment to be able to hear and recognize your voice, above every other voice. Spark a desire in our hearts that yearns to be in your presence. Father, I thank you for the plans that you have for our lives. Thank you that you are working all things together for our good and for your honor and glory.  In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”