Praise be Jesus Christ! Praise be His holy and powerful name! He is good; He is mighty. He is present to those who seek Him! He is God!
Thank You, Lord, for all thy benefits! Thank You for drawing us to You. Thank You for Your presence in every aspect of our lives. Thank You that You are always there when I call Your name; even when I do not sense Your presence. I trust Your promise to be found by those who seek You.
Forgive me, Lord, for the times I fail to remember You are with me. Forgive me, Lord, when I forget that what I feel is not always reality. Forgive me, Lord, for the times I turn my back to You, and then claim to be abandoned. Forgive me, Lord!
I have often referred to myself as a spiritual toddler. I say that because I can be very rash and reactive at times, and often have those “temper tantrums” for which toddlers are infamous. You would think I would want to outgrow this stage and be more spiritually mature, but I have so many lessons to learn in my toddler stage that I do not want to rush through it and miss any opportunity to learn, grow, and mature. I also like the simplicity of this phase; it is not complicated or “above my head.” It is a constant reminder of “my place” as a child of God, a little one in His flock. Quite frankly, this phase protects me from getting “too big for my britches”; it keeps me humble.
Recently, I was having quite a day planned, and I was feeling all the feels that creep upon those who overextend themselves. However, it was my watch day. This is a weekly day that I have committed to fast, pray, and listen for His still small voice. It holds such a high priority for me, that even on busy days, I find time to sit in quiet and turn my thoughts to Him. This year’s watch days have been too hectic for my personality. I do not like feeling like the clock is ticking when I am trying to sit with the Lord. I have managed, though, but only because He is faithful!
On this particular day, I learned of the possibility that my watch days may be less busy in the upcoming year, and I was so grateful that I could see God’s hand working this out for me. Although it is not definitive, it gave me hope and reminded me to trust His plans for me! He will work it all out!
There I sat, thanking Him for this news, and asking Him to speak to my heart. I seemed to form an image in my imagination of a toddler, with parents near, confident to explore new surroundings. Then, in my imagination, a joyful laugh of a parent watching the toddler take awkward steps to begin finding his way through this new place.
I could almost hear in my heart, “My children, my little ones! I AM here in the midst of it all. Cling to Me; stay with Me. Look at Me; do not leave My side. CONFIDENCE TO DO MY WILL FLOWS FROM YOUR CLOSENESS TO ME!” It was an image of “Seek ye First the Kingdom of God”. Thank You, Lord, for this image! Let us pray that we will always stay close to Him.
Are you a spiritual toddler, too? What lessons are you learning in this phase? Are you more mature, and can you share the lessons you learned in this stage? Wherever you are in your relationship with God, share, share, share; you never know who might benefit!
Reference: Photo by Josh Withers on Unsplash
