My children are two of God’s greatest gifts of encouragement. My son is consistently telling me that I’m the “best.” He wants me to know this so deeply that he put a reminder on our Alexa device that announces every day at 6:45 pm, “Mom is the best and no one can tell otherwise.”
My daughter can be equally as sweet. A couple of years ago I came home from an exceptionally grueling week at work during a very difficult school year. I didn’t even have the energy or desire to make it all the way to the couch where the family was relaxing and watching a movie. I sat down on the floor of the front room and tears filled my eyes. I was beyond physically exhausted. I was bone weary in my heart and in my spirit. I had nothing left to give.
As I sat there, my sweet girl found me and took a seat beside me. I put my arm around her, so thankful for her loving presence, and I said, “Do you know you bring me joy every day?”
As those words fell from my lips, I heard the Father say, “That’s how I feel about you.” Then the tears really started to flow!
The Word is full of references to God’s chosen family.
John 1:12 explains, “ But for all who did receive and trust in Him, He gave them the right to be reborn as children of God.”
We read in Romans 8:16, “…God’s Spirit confirms in our spirits that we are His children.”
Galatians 3:26 reads, “It is your faith in the Anointed Jesus that makes all of you children of God.”
1 John 3:1 declares, “Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children.”
Friend, this is an honor of which even the angels cannot boast (Heb. 1:5). We are the literal sons and daughters of God. Just as a parent takes pleasure in their child, He finds pleasure in us. Just as a parent swells with pride at the success of their offspring, He is proud of us. Just as a parent longs to take away the heartache of disappointment from their child, He longs to do the same for us. When we are happy, He is overjoyed. When we are sad, He feels our pain. When we are worried, He wants to fix it!
But, do we allow Him to be a Father to us? Do we willingly share our joy, our heartache, our pleasure and our pain with Him? He wants it all! Every part of it! He wants to be the first call we make when we have good news or bad news! He wants to be the first cry for help!
If I am honest, this is a concept I am still learning. When faced with a problem, large or small, my mind immediately begins trying to solve it on my own. I feel the weight of it and take the burden upon myself, especially if it involves a small matter of daily life. But buried beneath that weight is a hidden belief that God the Father isn’t concerned about the little things. There is a lie that He won’t answer and that lie simply isn’t true. He may not answer how I think He should, but by not asking I am robbing Him of the opportunity to show just how much He loves me.
How might life change if I stopped believing this lie and began to bring every worry to Him? What joy and peace could we all experience if we learned to come to Him like a child, with both the small cares and the big ones? He said after all, “Cast all your care upon Him for He cares for you,” (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV). All means just that…all, the whole quantity or extent of a particular thing.
Friend, will you join me in silencing this lie? Will you dare to believe that He really does care? Will you go to Him and ask, in what area of my life do you want me to experience your care for me?
-Liz