Yesterday, I took my four children to one of the many local parks in the area. We had a fantastic time and I greatly enjoyed watching them play. As is usually the case, I learned something about me and about God through an interaction I had with one of my children concerning the monkey bars. These particular monkey bars were pretty high, and my 8 year old son, Kameron, is not the height of an 8 year old so this was especially scary for him. I let him hold on to the bars and I held onto his legs and told him to push himself forward (Melody, my dear dear friend, you already see where this is going, don't you?)
He reached for the first one, success! The second and third he did with little problem. But by the fourth, his arms were getting tired and he started realizing how high up he was. "Don't worry, Kami, I've got you! Mommy's here and she's not gonna let you fall." Forward one more and then he stops. "All done!!!" (Kameron, has autism, and with that comes a pretty significant language delay...that will make this make a little more sense). "No, baby, I've got you. Keep going." But Kameron doesn't want to keep going. He is trapped in his fear. "Get down now!!" Even though he can see clearly what is in front of him - the other side of the monkey bars - his fear kept him from getting to the end.
Sometimes life can be a lot like getting stuck on monkey bars. God will often call on us to trust Him and in His promises to us. But trust is hard! And it's not always the unknown that we fear, but what we see God doing right in front of us that paralyzes us and stops us from moving forward.
Romans 8:28 assures us that, "all things work together for good for those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." That is a promise that should allow us the ability to take a sigh of relief. But very often our lack of faith keeps us from taking the leap and trusting God fully. We make ourselves vulnerable to Him...but only a little and the things we truly desire we keep so close to the vest we dare not take them to the throne.
Fear is a very powerful force and it did not come from God (For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7) . But the grace we have from God is that when fear takes hold of our lives and prevents us from moving forward in His will, we can call on Him for help and by His grace and love He does just that.
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave to again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father'." Romans 8:15
The same way I had my son and wouldn't let him fall, God holds us in His hand. When we get scared, we cry out to Him for strength and help and because He is our Father, that help is granted.
So to any of you who are dangling on that fourth or fifth bar and seeing what's in front of you, go for it! This I write more for myself than anyone reading it. Trust that God has you - your dreams, your destiny, your future, your life - in His arms. Press forward and don't let go until you've reached the end. Press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called YOU Heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14).
Dear God,
I gave you my dreams as You asked and some of them are already coming true. As I thank You for that, please help me to remember that Your arms are around me and as long as I stay with You, Your hand will keep me from falling. Help me to move forward towards the end I see so clearly, and help me to get ready along the way.
In Your name I pray,
Amen
~Monique~
No comments:
Post a Comment