Our life's journey takes us to
all elevations. We have joy-filled
mountain top experiences i.e.: marriage, birth of children and grandchildren, buying
your first home or car and successfully accomplishing goals. But there are also seasons in life when we
travel the valley floor and experience challenges through losses of all kinds. And with Jesus as our traveling companion, He
makes life do-able.
When we are cresting high He
makes the heights more brilliant and opens wide our understanding of spiritual
things. He fills us to overflowing. How
we hunger for those times. We feel Abba
Father's presence, close and intimate.
It reminds me of how the disciples must have felt. Jesus was present; life was intimately
shared. His lessons and his words were
deeper than the ocean, inspiring and life changing.
Too often in life the path
turns downward and we find ourselves walking through the wilderness. Hope is fading. Life seems to be ebbing. The walk is endless, exhausting. If it were a forest it would be rocky cliffs
with high mountains to climb and overgrown with thorns. If it were a desert it
would be blazing hot with no water, no tree for shade, and no hope of finding
rest or sustenance. Just loneliness.
Fear. Doubt. Confusion. Hopelessness.
How well I remember feeling I would not make it another moment – let
alone another day.
Regardless of what your wilderness
looks and feels like one thing stays the same....the cry of our hearts. “My God, my God – why have you forsaken
me?” Where are you? I can't feel you?! I cannot sense your nearness! He has left me. Lord, answer me! Many ask why – why does God
allow us to go through these wilderness experiences and these times when it
feels as though he has abandoned us. Why
does he stay quiet? Why doesn't he
intervene in the midst of my pain and stop it sooner? While I do not pretend to know all the
answers to all of these questions the following word picture came to me in my
mind regarding where Abba Father is when I cannot sense Him.
I liken it to the
parent/grandparent who is teaching a child to ride a bike. As we teach and instruct we grab hold of the
bike seat with a firm, steadying grip.
We run alongside of our dear little one and encourage and instruct on
how to stay upright and steady and safe.
Back and forth we go, holding steadily and firmly, instilling confidence
and strength.
But there comes a point when
we have to let go. With our heart in our
throats we let go and watch our kid go like the wind. Alone and wobbly, their sweaty, little hands
grip the handle bars that careen back and forth a little too much for our well-being. Now stop.
Where is the parent? The good
parent does not leave. We are near –
watching, praying and rooting our child forward on life's journey.
Here are a few lessons we can
learn about Abba Father from this analogy.
~When we are wondering where
God is remember – like a loving parent trotting behind the child – HE is never
far away. All we have to do is call out
his name and he is there. Remember what
your father has told you –
Deuteronomy 3:16 “Be strong
and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them. FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU. HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.”
~Like any parent knows, we
must release our child so they can ride alone.
When we release them it is with the hope that they will remain dependent
upon that which we have taught them. The
ride involves learning what is truth and adhering to it. When we do not, we crash. Adhering to what we have been taught is
crucial in keeping us on the straight and narrow path or to keep us upright and
cruising along. Remember – our
dependence upon God alone is crucial -
“But the salvation of the righteous is
from the LORD; He is their strength in time of trouble. The LORD helps them and
delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they
take refuge in Him. Psalm 37:39-40
~ Through the highs and lows of life, God is
revealing himself to us. He is using our
life circumstances as the canvas upon which he can reveal his personality – his
faithfulness and trustworthiness. He desires
that we trust Him without question. As
human parents, our desire is for our children to obey us without question
because we know we teach them truth. To ensure safety and abundant life we
teach and enforce in hopes that our children will not question the life-giving
path in which we lead them. In short,
our children grow to have faith in us through our love and instruction.
But let him ask in faith,
nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the
wind and tossed. James 1:6
Unwavering Faith in our
father's presence is important! Besides
what other option is there?
“I'd rather walk in the dark
with God
Than go alone in the light;
I'd rather walk by faith with
him
Than go alone by sight. - Anonymous”
