Devotion

The Father's Plan
by Amy Browning

One of the hardest lessons to learn in this hard world is that of trust. Trust in people, trust in things, and most importantly trust in God. As I sit and think about trust, a picture comes to mind. It is an image of my little girl who is looking up at someone with a look of trust and adoration. She is a little girl who looks as if all of her dreams have come true and as if nothing in this whole big world can ever touch her. She is safe and she is loved. She knows this because she is being held in a pair of arms that have never let her down and have shielded her from the time she was born into this world. This man is her daddy and his love is unconditional.

This is such a precious sight and it calls forth both tears and laughter. It is a beautiful moment and it inspires me as I remember it again and again. Mostly it inspires me to think back and remember my Father. Not my earthly father, although he is the best of men, but my heavenly Father. As I think of my little girl and her ultimate trust in a man, a man who is flawed despite his best attempts to be her superman, I cannot help but feel shame. I am shamed that I cannot with all that is in me learn to trust in a God that is perfect and all knowing.

How can I question a God that wants only the best for me and has mapped out a plan for my life that will only bring me closer to Him if I follow it? And therein lies the problem. If .it is such a little word but so powerful. Alas, God does not force me to follow but gently leads and if I choose to follow I am blessed beyond comprehension.

Why is it so hard to take those steps required to follow the perfect guide? Looking back over my life to date I can see nothing but the hand of God leading and preserving. In my short 23 years He has never failed me nor let me fall. In the blackest of depression He was the hand that held me and I hung on to Him with the desperation of a lost child. In those times He was the only one who never failed and never let me down. He is indeed the perfect father.

Why then is my will so weak? I intend to follow blindly and trust completely and instead find myself stopping, asking questions, and arguing like a willful child.

"Why must I be here, why must I do this, why must this happen to me, why am I made like this?"

Instead of accepting gratefully the providence of the God who knows everything I instead march ahead demanding that God work the way I want, in my timing, with my desires always in mind.

It is at these times that I remember again and again the picture of my little girl and her complete and utter trust in her daddy and I remember again the hand of God and His strong arms that always hold and never fail. I remember the million ways that God has spoken and the million ways that He works in my life. I remember the stars and sun and the beautiful world He created for me. I remember His majesty and power. I remember the truth of who He is and that despite my limitations and shortcomings He will never, never give up on me and He will never leave me to stumble in the dark afraid of what I cannot see.

There is no place that any of us can go that He hasn't been to already. There is no feeling or experience that He hasn't already felt or experienced. There is no tragedy that He hasn't lived through. There are no tears that He hasn't shed. He is the God that holds all the answers and understands all the questions that we bring to Him. As I think on these things it brings a healing and an assurance.

It is an assurance that even though we have questions and doubts, God is a Father that will never push us away but will instead take our hands and lead us into a tomorrow that is bright with the joy of being secure in His perfect and amazing plan. It is a plan that enfolds and surrounds every part of our lives, the very lives that He has presented us as a gift and now desires to bless and protect while filling and purifying.

In the light of all that God desires to do, the steps required to follow this perfect guide suddenly seem small and my reluctance melts away as I reach out for the hand that is always there. The hand that is patiently waiting for me to put aside my fears and step out in the faith that I once thought too small to move me anywhere. Now I know better, now I know it is a faith that can move mountains and a faith that begin to trust with every bit of my heart and soul.