Tag Archives: our Heavenly Father

Daddy, Help

Psalm 86

We are told that we are powerful and capable individuals who can do anything we set our minds to. It’s a great thought. But it’s a lie. And I bet most of you, if you’re honest, would say it’s a lie, too.

Because we aren’t all that. We were never intended to be all that. We were created to need, and receive from God. The truth is, the most empowering thing an individual can do is to submit to God, admit a need, worship him, and receive His power to meet the need. There is something very freeing about admitting we need God.

Like a 2 1/2 foot child stretching, reaching, straining to get to the cookie jar on the kitchen counter. No amount of stretching is going to gain those extra inches he needs to reach his goal, no matter how much he believes in himself.

But let that child say, “Daddy, help!” and that father will take that child into his arms, lift him up, and place him in a position to open the cookie jar. And, more than likely, that daddy who loves his child, will hug that little one and give him a smooch.

Psalm 86:1-7 did that for me today. It reminds me my Heavenly Father is standing at the ready to forgive, to show mercy and love, to make me happy and help me in times of trouble. I just need to call out to Him.

Now, I know my example is imperfect. You might point out the child could pull a chair over to the counter and crawl up there himself to get to the cookie jar. Possibly. (especially if your name is Caleb and you are my great-nephew). But that child would miss out on that special moment with his daddy, the hug, the love expressed by his father who is bigger and much more capable than he.

And, if we’re pointing out the possibility the kid could crawl up there himself, we could also point out he could fall. The tragedy of that is, there is no need to go through the pain of a fall when all he had to do was ask his Daddy for help in the first place.

I hope, that if you are going through a difficult time right now and you think you have it in you to get through it on your own, think again. You don’t have to. There is no intrinsic value in sucking it up when God is standing there waiting for you to call on Him. And, my friend, the benefit of receiving His help goes way beyond whatever you are going through at the moment.

You have a Father who loves you. Allow Him to pick you up in His capable arms and BE the answer to your problem. I’m praying that today you will pray:

“Daddy, help”

Choosing God (Luke 15)

Our God-given ability to choose is a funny thing. For most of us, it’s hard to marry human choice with the Sovereignty of God. And today, I’m not even going to try.

But there is something about our ability to make decisions for ourselves that has me looking at our Sovereign God with adoration as I read the three parables in chapter 15. Hear me out.

We make choices every day that effect our relationship with God; a thought we choose to entertain rather than putting aside, a little white lie we tell to cover ourselves, listening to gossip or being the gossip even when we disguise it as concern or by asking for prayer, an unforgiving heart, whether to speak up for the truth or stay silent. Many seemingly meaningless decisions we make every day impact our relationship with a Holy God.

It’s not just the “big” choice of choosing God or rejecting Him outright, although that is certainly a huge part of it. We make choices all the time and none of them are insignificant.

The three parables we read today has me thinking. One lamb among hundreds, or one coin among 10 doesn’t seem that big of a deal. But look at how the keepers of those things reacted when something so small was lost. They dropped everything and actively pursued that which was lost.

Look at the father in the parable of the prodigal son. That dad had been searching the horizon for his son. Scripture doesn’t say but, considering what we see in the other two parables, I have to believe that lost boy’s father searched the horizon every day the boy was gone, ready and eager to welcome him home.

Have you ever watched a baby take his first wobbly steps? Very often one parent will stand behind the child, bent over, both hands on either side of that precious one, ready and eager to catch him when he falls. The baby moves to the left, the parent moves with him. He moves to the right and teeters, the parent adjusts her hands to provide that extra safety.

I’ve seen a parent scoop up his child in his arms, with pride and excitement, when his wobbly baby falls to the ground after taking a few steps. I’ve watched the joy and love given and received between parent and child when that happens. That’s the picture that came to me today as I considered our Heavenly Father and the independence He has given us.

God wants us to grow to maturity, to step out, to make decisions for our good and His glory. And, because He has allowed us to do so (or not) He stands at the ready to catch us, to find us when we get lost. He is there to scoop us up into His arms, to rejoice with the angels when we come back to Him.

I think I love Him more today than I did yesterday as I get another glimpse of how much He loves me. My Heavenly Daddy has my back, has His arms stretched out to catch me when I fall. And I do fall.

I don’t always make choices that honor Him. The prodigal son certainly didn’t make choices that honored His dad, either. But the boy made a choice. The dad let him go. But that dad never gave up and was there to welcome the lost boy once again into His embrace, when the boy chose to come home.

I praise God for His unending love that is expressed to me in many ways I don’t even consider half the time. I am that lost lamb, that silver coin, that parodical son. The choices I make to step away from Him are never met with indifference. God remains right here, working behind the scene, steadying me, looking out for me, and rejoicing when I choose to fall into His arms in surrender and faith.

I have the ability to choose God with all that entails: forgiveness, eternity, blessings, and obedience, surrender, humility. I have the ability to choose to reject or ignore Him with all that entails: pride, unforgiveness, missing out on the blessings, judgment.

But in either case, while we have breath, God is going to pursue us, to look for us to come to Him, to do everything possible including die for us, to give us every opportunity to be found by Him, and rejoice when we choose Him.

I choose God. I pray you choose Him, too.

Psalms 62-68; Real Rest

I love the psalms that talk about resting in God. These same psalms may be describing hardship, grief, confusion, frustration, but in the midst of turmoil we are reminded there is a place of rest in the arms of our Father. Listen to some of the verses from these psalms today:

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. (62:1)

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. (62:5)

My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (63:8)

Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; (64:10a)

I wonder how often I ignore this rest while I lie awake at night with worry? Or when I replay that incident where someone treated me unfairly, over and over in my mind? Or when I get too busy to read God’s Word and pray? How often do I ignore that rest when I pursue my own agenda without giving God a thought?

One of the great joys of my life has been in being an aunt, and now a great-aunt. Is there anything more precious than when that little one climbs up into your lap, the smell of summer sunshine on his or her skin, and closes their eyes? Their breathing slows, their muscles relax, and soon you are holding that little person you would die for, while the cares of this word drift away?

Sometimes I just want to crawl up in my Father’s lap, lay my head on His shoulder, and just breathe. I can do that by opening my Bible, by shutting out the rest of the world, and talking to the One who loves me more than I can even imagine.

I am reminded my Heavenly Father receives as much joy from my times wrapped up in His arms as I do. Why would I not want to crawl up there every single day?