“So I said to you: Don’t be terrified or afraid of them! The Lord your God who goes before youwill fight for you,just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt. And you saw in the wilderness how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place.” Deuteronomy 1:29-31 (HCSB)
When I was a little girl I used to watch a TV show, “Father Knows Best.” Like much of television in the late 50’s and early 60’s the show portrayed a family we would all like to have, not the reality of what we did have. In this particular show, Jim, the father, went to work Monday through Friday and came home every day in time for the supper that Margaret had prepared. The three children, Betty, Bud and Kathy all brought their problems to dad and he dispensed quiet wisdom and occasional discipline, like being grounded. In each 20-something minute episode, a crisis was identified and resolved and closing credits would roll as the family smiled, hugged or laughed at their life. Hollywood hasn’t changed much. They still produce television and movies which have only a passing acquaintance with reality and truth.
About twenty years ago, I found my true Father who always does know best!
Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
You understand my thoughts from far away.
You observe my travels and my rest;
You are aware of all my ways. Psalm 139: 1-3 (HCSB)
God knows my life. I cannot lie to God like I did to my parents as a rebellious teenager. God knows every step I take in obedience – or not. He knows every kind word I say and all those unkind ones even when I have wanted to call them back. God doesn’t need me to explain to Him why I behave the way I do but when I sit down with Him and tell Him about my day, His light of truth shines to reveal any distortion or lies from my own flesh or to confirm or deny the advice of another.
Have you never heard? Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding. Isaiah 40:28 (NLT)
Father God is always there for me, day or night. One of the major mistakes of my early adult years was to expect another human being to be the one I could count on. I was putting them into a position in my life that belongs to God. My Father and Savior will never leave me or bend under the weight of of pain or need. I especially found the depth of God’s strength and love during the ten years that included the death of both of my parents, divorce and the diagnosis of my son with cancer and his death five years later. In the darkest of nights, God was always there to bring His Light, comfort and healing to my bruised and battered spirit.
Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. For the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:20-25 (HCSB)
His wisdom is without flaw. In this world there are events and situations not covered in philosophy classes or self-help books. There are decisions to be made which have no quantitative pros and cons to work out like some algebra equation. The most wondrous thing occurs when I spend time with the LORD. I learn His voice and His character. And I learn to trust Him when I cannot see the solution in front of me but must take one step at a time with my hand in His to lead me.
As I enter into Holy Week this Sunday, I will be thinking about the depth of my Father’s love. He loved me so much that He sent His Son into my world. Father God promised if I believed in His Son, I will never truly die but will live forever with Him. I look into my Father’s eyes and see – love, so much love, for me.
My Father’s Eyes written by Gary Chapman and sung by Amy Grant
