SAFE & CONFIDENT
11th Apr 2018
Chris, a young man we know, held his toddler son Jesse high in the air, his arms stretched to the limit, high above his head, laughing and whooping, safe in the knowledge he was held by a father who loved him, protected him and wouldn’t drop him. Jesse as a result could enjoy the adventure, scream with delight in perfect confidence in those loving arms.
God is portrayed in the same way in Deuteronomy chapter 1. Moses reminds the Children of Israel, “There you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place....who went ahead of you in fire by night and in a cloud by day.... to search out places for you to camp and to show the the way you should go.” (Deut 1:31-33)
King David understood this declaring that God like a shepherd goes ahead of the sheep, clears the land of anything harmful at the grazing ground, sets up a table on which he puts all the destructive objects so his sheep can enjoy safe pasture. Moses tells the Israelites that in Egypt God kept them alive, and in the wilderness their shoes didn’t wear out and feet didn’t blister over those 40 years! (Deut 8:4)
This is your Father God going ahead of you, covering your needs right now, knowing and caring intimately for you - if you will let Him? Our little Jesse has perfect trust in his earthly father, and can giggle high above the ground. Moses was constantly asking the Children of Israel to remember what God had done for them in the past to to reinforce the principle that the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever, will care in like manner today.
If you are anxious about tomorrow, look back, and with purpose remember every act of Fatherly love. Psalm 86:5 in the Message says, “You’re well-known as good and forgiving, big hearted to all who ask for help.”
by Joyce Sibthorpe
