My little grandson looked up at me and said, “MaMa, I had a bad dream.” He had stayed the night with me. I sat beside him and drew him near. He continued, “I don’t remember … but it had the debil.” I put my face near his and my hand over his heart. “you tell that devil to go away because you belong to Jesus! And there’s no need to worry anyway. When he looks at you, he sees Jesus. And that will make him run!”
How do you make someone understand how very much they are loved and protected by a Father who is always faithful, always strong, always with us? This world is so hard. Our eyes and hearts can so easily be turned away from the Truth. Just this week I learned that two friends are dealing with severe cancer reports. I look on Facebook and read a young mother’s broken heart – “one day I’ll ask God to explain why this suffering is mine.” If only she could see the tears on her Savior’s face.
I have suffered too. When I lost my child I asked God what happened. Where was He? He gently told me that He was right there. He welcomed my baby girl into His arms and held her mother in His arms at the same time. God can do that. He is everywhere. He doesn’t cause havoc or pain. He never steps in to teach us a lesson by hurting us. That’s not His way. That ‘debil’ likes to fool us into thinking that God did these things or that He doesn’t care. Satan doesn’t have power to cause all of our pain, but he tries to use them to make us doubt our Father. Jesus fought for us like a valiant warrior. He defeated the devil and all of hell for you and for me. Satan is angry. He loves confusion and fear. Jesus conquered these too. He didn’t have to. They’ve never had a stronghold on God! He did it for us. When bad things happen, and they will, Jesus is always the First Responder. He stays when everyone else leaves. He heals our broken hearts and He’s made us a Home in eternity like no other. He has never left my side and when I needed Him most, He made Himself so visible to me. And now, like Mary Magdalene, I can say, “I have seen the Lord!”
Our world has been broken, not at the hands of God, but by our own hands. We’ve made a mess of things. God could leave us. He doesn’t need us or require anything from us for His own good. He just loves us and longs for us to be His. He is with us always. You can take that to the bank! God alone is Truth. He’s a Father you can count on.
Does this mean I’ll never have hard times? Does it mean that if I jump off a cliff I won’t break any bones? No, we have free will and we have gravity! The broken bones will not be God’s fault, but my own. But God will jump off with me. He will be in the healing. He doesn’t just mend bones but He mends the heart that wanted to jump. He wants our hearts and He wants them to be whole. He is THE comforter and joy-giver. He never gets off track and forgets what is important or what’s best for us. He never gets tired of us even when we are foolish or broken. He doesn’t give up on repeat offenders. He just keeps picking us up and He uses those hard times to build us, teach us and draw us near. He reveals Himself in the hard times. He uses the dark to show us the Light. He calms the storms in our life. He is the gentle giant that kills our Goliaths and then leads us beside quiet waters of rest and peace.
When I doubt He lets me. When I fail He forgives me. He has proven Himself over and over. I rest in the assurance of His mighty love…because He has claimed me as His own.
Little grandchild, you belong to Him.
Sister, you have been bought and paid for by Jesus Himself. Brother, you have been adopted into His family. His plans for you are just for good. Give the rest to Him and walk in His peace and assurance. Open your eyes, your ears and your heart and ‘see the Lord.’ Just ask Him to show you…
Be blessed.
