My Father, Thank You that You Are Open-Armed
My Father, thank You that You are open-armed. I am grateful that You are other-centered and You ARE love.
It is amazing to me that You are wherever I am. And that Your arms are wide opened and never ever closed to me. You welcome closeness. Your love draws me into Yourself. You are always a PLACE of comfort and refuge. I am Your child. Thank You.
“This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.”
– Psalm 91:2 (NLT)
Like a parent/child
My relationship with the LORD is kinda like when a toddler who is learning to walk. Dear friend, do you remember a time like that with a child in your life? You probably don’t remember it yourself as a child, but you’ve probably been an adult cheering a child on. The adult parent kneels down and holds out their arms—wide opened, and says: “Come to Daddy. Yes! That’s good. Yay! Keep coming. You can do it! Yes! Just another step. Come on…”
That is just like God does for us throughout all the days of our lives. He cheers us on.
That is the visual
Picture in your mind GOD as YOUR PARENT. Whatever is going on in your life, He is right there—with arms wide open–He is cheering you on toward Him. Can you see His smile? Can you hear His encouragement in your mind? Grasp the fact that He absolutely adores you. You are His “toddler”.
He wants your legs to get strong and steady as you walk through your life—every day, getting more agile and more focused.
“He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might, He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary. And the young men shall utterly fall; But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles (soaring over their problems). They shall run and not be weary; They shall walk and not faint.” – Isaiah 40:29-31
We fall down, get up, fall down, get up
THAT is the Christian life. But the best part is that you are never alone. Your Father is cheering you on, every step of the way. There are falls and spills and mistakes and sins along the way. But, He is only a prayer away. Cry out to Him. “Daddy, I need you so much!” “Please help me to walk through this valley.”
Weeping
Have you ever sobbed so hard that you are not even making a sound? It’s just coming from the depths of your being! I know I have. And in the depths of that sorrow, I sense His arms open wide welcoming me in and I am comforted. When Jesus went to the gravesite of His friend, Lazarus, the Bible says, “Jesus wept”. We don’t know what He was thinking or exactly why He was weeping. But we do know that He was weeping. We know He deeply loved Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and Mary. There could have many reasons for that emotion, but because He wept, we too, can feel relief in our tears. Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a time to laugh AND a time to cry. And a time for every purpose under heaven.
The valley of the shadow
The 23rd Psalm speaks of the valley of the shadow of death. I used to always hate that part because I didn’t want to think of death. But then I heard it explained—and it makes perfect sense–that perhaps the author is actually speaking of our time on earth—PRE-Heaven—as the VALLEY. The valley of death is actually our journey through this land that Adam and Eve left us. A world tainted with temptation and pain and misunderstandings and suffering.
“Put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption.” – Psalm 130:7
Perhaps Today
Are you ready? On this earthbound experience, God doesn’t waste our sorrows. So all this STUFF that is happening is all for a purpose. It is all part of our learning to “walk” into the arms of our Daddy someday. Our Heavenly Father. Our Abba Father.
It’s HARD here on earth. But when we keep our eyes on Jesus and remember that God is preparing us for Eternity with Him, there is purpose and there is joy. INNER joy. Not the fleeting feeling of happiness, but there is deep down, comforting joy! And there is hope. WHEN we keep our eyes on Him!
We remember that because He lives, we can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. And we can face the future. Not alone, But with our open-armed Abba Father cheering us on. One day at a time. One step at a time…into His arms of love.
Welcome Home
I hope you have surrendered your life to Him as the Lord of your life. If not, WHY not?
Don’t put it off! There is no better time than right now and right here.
Just ask! Because right now, His arms are open and waiting for you to run to Him and let Him welcome you into the FAMILY of GOD! And He will say, “Welcome Home! Way to go! I KNEW you could do it!”
To God be the Glory!
Until next time,
KLU GIB
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Experiencing God’s Love from A-Z
Pamela Taylor invites you to join her in this interactive acrostic devotional designed to draw you into the extremely personal and abundant love God has waiting for you.
