Devotionals

My baby girl is 2 years old. When she was born, I held that little miracle in my arms and wondered at the Love of God. I had known for years that God loved me, but that baby taught me a lesson on how much god loved me. For the first time, I understood how much One must love in order to sacrifice their only child for the sake of another. And, she taught me how much I should rely on God.

In those first few months of her life, I was that little girl's only source of safety and provision. She could not eat, dress, walk, talk or anything else without my help.  She didn't have to be taught to cry out for me when she needed something. It didn't take her long to figure out that she didn't need to cry long or loud; she knew that I would respond almost instantly to the faintest cry. She understood the concept of Psalm 120:1 better than I did. "In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me." How often do I whine and carry on longer than needed instead of just crying unto the Lord?

My daughter doesn't know of God's grace and mercy. That, I will have to teach her. Right now, the relationship she has with me and her daddy is shaping the relationship she'll hopefully have with Christ one day. How we respond to her will teach her about care and trust. How we respond to each other will teach her about relationships. How we respond to life will teach her about faith and values. And now that's she's getting older, how she responds is teaching me about my relationship with Christ.

Just the other day, as we were riding down the road, she said, "Turn it off, Momma." "It" was the sun, shining in her eyes. Right now, she believes I can do ANYTHING! It won't take her long to figure out she's wrong. But, sadly, right now, she has more faith in me than I sometimes have in God. My God CAN control the sun. He spoke it into existence, and Joshua 10:12-13 proves he can command it. "Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13 And the sun stood still , and the moon stayed , until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies . Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day." If He can do that, why don't I trust Him for everything, just like Cheyenne does me?

Before she understood "Turn it off," her request was much simpler. "Fix it, Momma." She couldn't say, "The sun is in my eyes. Can you do something about that?" All she could say was, "Fix it, Momma." But that's all she had to say. I knew what she wanted and needed. Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick , and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." He knows my thoughts and the intents of my heart. Even when I can't communicate my need to Him, He knows my need.

He also knows what's in my best interest. What Cheyenne knows is that the sun is in her eyes, it's blinding her, and it hurts. She knows she wants it to stop, and that I could help if I wanted to. What she doesn't understand is that it is not always in her best interest for me to rescue her from an uncomfortable situation. Unfortunately, this sun incident usually occurs when it's just the two of us riding down the road, and it's not always a good idea for me to let go of the steering wheel to block the sun from her eyes. Another lesson learned - sometimes God seems not to care about the situation I'm in, but the truth is, He understands more about the situation than I do, and He knows what's best for me. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

You may be thinking, "Yeah, that's great, but what am I learning from this rebellious teenager, other than patience?" You should be learning alot - like how God loves us in spite of our rebellion and disobedience. It's all over the Old Testament. Israel strayed again and again and again. We are no better. Paul said in Romans 7:19, "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do ." The next time your teen gets rebellious, disrespectful or downright disobedient, and after you've dealt with it in the way you handle those matters, go find a place away from it all and think on these things:

                1) Did you give your teen these rules for a good reason - to protect her or guide her in the right direction?

                2) Why did your teen insist on going against your rule? Does she think it's unfair or that you're "old-fashioned" and don't understand her culture?

                3) Do you ever respond to God the way your teen is now responding to you - doing things His Word says you shouldn't or acting in a way that's displeasing or dishonoring to Him?

                4) Did you respond to your teen's disobedience the way you'd want God to respond to yours?

Believe me, if you're a parent, there are lessons to be learned from your children about your relationship with God. Don't let them pass you by!

• 1 Comment
• Tags: grace, learn, love, mercy

• Posted by: Karen Tinsley Nelson