from Pleasant Grove Baptist Church http://bit.ly/2JLLn2y
via IFTTT Do you trust God? If so, then whom do you fear? Who is so powerful as to pluck you out of the hands of the Son of God, Jesus, who already conquered death itself. Who can overpower Jesus? Who can sneak past to attack you? Who? Much of life is resolved in this simple fact, either God is God or He is not. If He is not God almighty, then everything is in vain. We do not stand a chance. All is lost. But if He is God, then we have all hope, all promise, and have nothing to fear. There is no in-between. Does God protect His own? Of course! Does He make mistakes? Does He sleep? Of course not. We live our lives forever under His watchful eye and protective hand. The other day I was walking through our pasture with my two year old son. The pasture is littered with dangerous plants, bull nettles, poison oak, thorny vines. Danger and injury lurk at every step if not careful. Yet my son merrily walked along by my side, holding my hand, oblivious to the danger. As his father, I constantly scanned the path ahead to gently guide him to the safest direction. Our path was twists and turns, the purpose of which he knew nothing. He smiled and chatted as he held my hand and followed my lead through dangerous ground. He was in no danger at all. I steered his every step to avoid any problem. Until, seeing a butterfly flirt by, he let go of my hand to chase it! This moment of "I'll go my way and have some fun" put him in danger. Not realizing which plants could hurt him, he could have gotten into real trouble. So, what did I do? Grabbed his hand of course! I regained my place as navigator of his life. He was disappointed, sure. He wanted to chase butterflies! Dad's rules are so boring! But... Dad kept him safe from dangers he could not comprehend. Those rules, which seem to prevent to fun of the moment, actually prevent injury and pain that he couldn't see. He was never in danger as long as he submitted to my lead and held on to my hand. Are you holding the Father's hand? If so, trust him. He will not let anything harm you. He will guide your steps and build a wall of protection around you. In that little walk through the pasture, I would have done anything for my son. A wasp, a snake, a scorpion, all was avoided and even if something came to attack him, that evil would have had to get past me first with my child in my protective arms. God is a loving protective father. He sees the dangers ahead. Sometimes He chases our hand when we spy colorful butterflies, but always He guards and protects us. All we must do is submit to His lead, and hold His hand. Then trust. I would have been saddened deeply if my son were fearful on that walk. Fear would mean that he did not trust me completely to guide and protect him. Anxiety would mean my son felt the need to protect himself from unknown dangers. He didn't think I could. It was his peace and light heartedness that showed me his trust. Do we treat our Father like that? Do we declare trust but live in fear? Do we become anxious, expecting an attack that our father will miss? Is He capable? Is He willing? Is He God? The faith of a child to trust. The obedience of a child to submit. Those two bring peace in this minefield we call life. Just hold Jesus hand and follow His lead. Relax. Trust. Even as you spy that butterfly, His grip tightens.
