A flash of lighting in the dark often terrifies children.
I expected Sam, my oldest grandson, to be scared too. On one of his overnight stays, I laid out a foam mattress, along with blankets, on the living room floor for him. Then I put a sleeping bag and blanket beside it for me. We had an indoor campout.
As we lay in the dark, I thought of a time twenty years before when I lay awake listening for my son Tyler to breathe. As I lay beside my grandson, I saw lightning flash periodically, casting quick shadows in the dark room. I thought of how Sam wasn't concerned in the least with the weather outside. I also thought of how he hadn't given a thought to whether he would be warm and comfortable or even fed or safe. When he finally closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, I was sure none of these thoughts entered his little mind.
I also thought about how our heavenly Father desires for us to depend on Him. He wants us to trust Him completely, as Sam did me. To trust to the point where our care and provision never cross our mind. He also wants us to be so sure of His care that the storm around us doesn’t faze us, no matter how dark and scary the shadows might be. He wants us to lie next to Him and close our eyes in total peace, knowing we are safe from all harm.
Doing so is a great testimony of God’s care for us. For Him to have our total trust and dependence brings the same satisfaction to His heart as Sam's complete and unquestioning faith did to mine.
Take the necessary steps so you can have complete faith in your heavenly Father's care.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Andy is a published multi-award-winning author with devotions appearing on the Christian Devotions website as well as the CBN website. He is a contributing author in the Starr Ayers/Stephanie Pavlantos book Room at the Table. Currently, he is working on his first novel and is assembling a book of inspirational Scripture-based short stories along with moral, personal, family, and comical stories. Andy is the founder and director of H.O.P.E. Ministries in Candler, NC. While operating primarily as a food ministry, they also provide backpacks, Easter baskets, and Christmas shoebox gifts to crisis pregnancy centers, domestic violence shelters, schools, government agencies, and other ministries. They also provide disaster relief and aid for unwed mothers and their children.