September 2010 - Page 2 of 10 - Daily Thoughts about God

by Marilyn Ehle
“Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:29-30 (The Message)

During the latter years of her life, my sweet mother-in-law experienced the condition common to many older people: loss of her short-term memory. While it was sad for us to see her diminished capacity, there was a positive aspect to this condition: she could no longer remember things that she formerly worried about! Her sleep was now relatively unbroken as the circumstances of the day just past, the often complex lives of her children and grandchildren, and world events no longer occupied her mind to the extent that she lay awake.

The Bible is filled with instructions about worry and anxiety: Do not worry about your life…do not be anxious about anything. Our heads tell us not to give in to the temptation to worry; we know that worry accomplishes nothing, even that anxiety has detrimental effects on our physical, mental and emotional health. We may even know that our inclination to worry is simply an evidence that we think we have control over life.

While we want to grow in obedience to God’s commands—which we know are for our ultimate well-being—I love the words used by Eugene Peterson in the paraphrase above: “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace… Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. What a delightful description of a life increasingly without worry! Acknowledging Jesus at our side as we face all those “worrisome” situations of life, and then imagining how He would live in those circumstances will take us a long way to living “freely and lightly.” And sleeping well, too.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/28/me_forgot-to-worry/
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by Max Lucado

My child’s feelings are hurt. I tell her she’s special. My child is injured. I do whatever it takes to make her feel better. My child is afraid. I won’t go to sleep until she is secure.

I’m not a hero. I’m not a superstar. I’m not unusual. I’m a parent. When a child hurts, a parent does what comes naturally. He helps.

And after I help, I don’t charge a fee. I don’t ask for a favor in return. When my child cries, I don’t tell her to buck up, act tough, and keep a stiff upper lip. Nor do I consult a list and ask her why she is still scraping the same elbow or waking me up again.

I’m not a prophet, nor the son of one, but something tells me that in the whole scheme of things the tender moments described above are infinitely more valuable than anything I do in front of a computer screen or congregation. Something tells me that the moments of comfort I give my child are a small price to pay for the joy of someday seeing my daughter do for her daughter what her dad did for her.

Moments of comfort from a parent. As a father, I can tell you they are the sweetest moments in my day. They come naturally. They come willingly. They come joyfully.

If all of that is true, if I know that one of the privileges of fatherhood is to comfort a child, then why am I so reluctant to let my heavenly Father comfort me?

Why do I think He wouldn’t want to hear about my problems? (“They are puny compared to people starving in India”)

Why do I think He is too busy for me? (“He’s got a whole universe to worry about.”)

Why do I think He’s tired of hearing the same old stuff?

Why do I think He groans when he sees me coming?

Why do I think He consults His list when I ask for forgiveness and asks, “Don’t you think you’re going to the well a few too many times on this one?”

Why do I think I have to speak a holy language around Him that I don’t speak with anyone else?

Why do I not take Him seriously when He questions, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:11)

Why don’t I let my Father do for me what I am more than willing to do for my own children?

I’m learning, though. Being a parent is better than a course on theology. Being a father is teaching me that when I am criticized, injured, or afraid, there is a Father who is ready to comfort me. There is a Father who will hold me until I’m better, help me until I can live with the hurt, and who won’t go to sleep when I’m afraid of waking up and seeing the dark. Ever! And that’s enough.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/27/ml_he-wants-to-comfort-you/
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Max Lucado
From: The Applause of Heaven
(Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999)

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/info/view/about_max_lucado/

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She Forgot to Worry

He Wants to Comfort You

Month: <span>September 2010</span>

She Forgot to Worry

He Wants to Comfort You