He Takes Care

Before my child came along, my prayer was for me to grow closer to God by having a child of my own. I wanted to understand more about how God feels toward us, even if it was a tiny fracture of what He feels. I knew it was impossible to be able to completely understand and know the depth of His love towards His children.

I definitely believe my prayer has been answered, and it is an ongoing blessing. I feel it more at certain times than others, and sometimes in the most obvious ways. Some in the ones I did not expect at all.

Logically, I knew parents made decisions for their child’s safety, and it wasn’t always the one most popular with the kid. I didn’t love all the decisions my own parents made, but looking back I knew they were right even when my emotions clearly thought they were wrong and ruining my life.

Well, I made a choice my son did not love the other day. Usually our response time is pretty good, but I just wasn’t as fast one morning in getting to him than he would have liked. I was on my way after his play time sounds turned to sobs, letting me know he was ready to get out of the crib. As I walked towards his room, I happened to look left and saw a giant hazard that would make it pretty difficult for my son to avoid once his little toddling feet were well on their way for the day. He loves to run from his crib prison straight to the back door to see his puppies every morning. Unfortunately, the massive puddle of dog pee was directly in his path.

As I released a giant sigh at the mess my dog left for me the night before, my boy’s cries grew get louder as he panicked thinking I was not coming to his aid. I knew if I went into his room, told him all was fine, and then left again, he would be even more confused and upset. So I made the decision to allow him to be further distressed while I stopped to clean up the obstacle he was sure to encounter. It didn’t take me very long, but to him, it felt like forever.

In the midst of cleaning up the pee, it hit me that this might be how God feels towards us. He hears our cries. He hears our prayers, but because we can’t see the overall picture, we cry louder thinking He isn’t coming to our aid when we need him. I thought about my own prayers at times, wondering when things might happen and when God might show up.

But God loves us SO much. His response time does not mean He loves us any less, but in fact more. He does see what lies ahead, and is always taking care of us. My son was not happy with me while he waited, but I was delayed because I was doing something FOR him because I love him so much. Sometimes God has to clean up the messes in our paths before He responds to us in the way we anticipated. Sometimes He responds in ways we did not expect.

This anecdote isn’t just about how I felt though while I removed my son’s obstacle. Yes, I absolutely felt closer to God as I compared my minor situation to how God takes care with us, but my son’s reaction is also something we can learn from as well.

After I cleaned up the pee and showed my face, his tears dried quickly and he began jumping up and down. His smile lifted his entire face and he began babbling excitedly. He was so happy to see me. He didn’t hold a grudge that I took a fraction longer to get to him than normal. He was just happy I came for him!

OOOOF. How many times do we hold grudges in how someone responds to us? When it isn’t as quick? When it wasn’t the way we wanted it to be? When we didn’t say the thing they wanted to hear? My son was just happy to see me and he quickly forgot about his discomfort from seconds before. Have we ever insulted God with our response when we finally get our answer from Him?

Maybe it isn’t the one we wanted, or He didn’t come as fast as we desired in a situation. And when we did get our answer, our attitude expressed a sarcastic “finally” instead one of gratitude and rejoicing. We forget who we are in those moments of ungratefulness. We forget our place in who we are to God, and most importantly we forget who God is. He is not a genie. He is not required to act like a first responder all the time.

The only reason we are able to do anything, to love ourselves and others, is because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). God is the Father who takes care of us. He makes the decisions that are beneficial for us. He knows best and sees the entire path before we can even know which direction to turn. He has the overview and He is the ultimate navigator.

In fact, God loved us so much that He sent HIS only son to die on the cross for our wrongdoings, our shortcomings, all of times that we missed the mark resulting is us turning our backs against God and His word. I look at my sweet boy’s face and my heart ACHES when I read that verse in John 3:16. God loved us so much that He sent His son to fix our heart problem, so that we can be reunited with God in heaven.

And yet we still grumble when God doesn’t come running as fast as we want. We are insincere when He does answer our prayer, and our gratitude turns to grumbling again once the next misfortunate thing comes our way, just like the Israelites roaming the wilderness, believing being back in slavery would be better than their current situation: trusting God to lead their path.

Well, I’m not an Israelite roaming the wilderness, but I am a Christ follower who allows my sinful nature to take hold of my crappy attitude when things aren’t going my way sometimes. I grumble when my plans get changed and when things don’t unfold in the timeline I imagined. When the obstacles come, it is my responsibility to keep my eyes focused on my Savior and manage a response that would please Him, not my own heart.

We are to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and to always give thanks in every circumstance because that is God’s Will for us (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We can rejoice because of who God is and know He is the victor always. We can pray to him always because He loves us and cares for us, and He WANTS to hear from his kids. Think about how many parents just want to hear from their babies! Lastly, God deserves all the thanks and the credit for every good thing in this world. He is the author, and never forget that even though we are sinful, miss the mark, and let him down, He still looked at you and created you. He loves you, and will continue to care for you in the best way possible. His way!

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14: 6. All we need is Him, and once we acknowledge that need and accept it, He takes care of the rest.

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” -Psalm 37: 3-4