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Just for
Moms
She was among an eager group of four-year-old children
crowded around my feet as I taught their Sunday school lesson. I was
the teacher and they were the students – or at least that’s how it
started out. The pint-sized audience listened intently as I tried to
create a mental image of Jesus and His disciples trapped in a
thunderstorm on the Sea of Galilee.
“The winds bleeeeeeew and rocked the little boat back
and forth, back and forth. The waves were soooooo big; they splashed
over the wooden sides and got the men all wet. Then water started
filling up the boat - and do you know what happens when a boat gets
full of water?”
“It sinks,” they chimed together.
“That’s right.” I continued with a wrinkled brow and
concerned look on my face. “That’s not all. The lightening was sooooo
bright, it looked like fire in the sky. And the claps of thunder were
sooooo loud, they could feel them vibrate in their chests.”
After painting this picture of impending doom and
thinking I would have my “congregation” just a little worried about
the fate of these men trapped in a storm, I asked the question. “Now
if you were in a tiny boat like this, caught in a terrible
storm like this, would you be afraid?”
Then one precious little girl, confident and unshaken
by the entire scenario, shrugged her shoulders and replied, “Not if
Jesus was in the boat with me.”
I will never forget that answer. As her words have
echoed in my mind, I’ve come to realize that this is the answer that
calms all my worries and fears. Just as the disciples had the storm
raging all around them, many times the storms of life rage around me.
A friend discovers she has cancer, a husband loses his job, a child is
born with birth defects. These are storms with waves of emotions so
high that our lifeboat fills with tears and appears that it could sink
at any moment. Waves of fear that rock our boat and threaten to spill
us into the depths of despair without even a life jacket to keep us
afloat. Storms that cause us to doubt who we are, what we have, and
where we are as a child of God. Waves of emotions that rock our faith.
“Tell me, would you be afraid?”
“Not if Jesus was in the boat with me.”
And guess what. He is. Although the pain may be
great, I don’t need to be afraid that the storms of life will destroy
me, because He’s in the boat with me and that gives me great peace.
After the children filed out and were off to Sunday
lunches throughout the city, I sat in the room to digest the words of
the real teacher that day. It was childlike faith in its purest
form. The little girl believed God.
My prayer for today:
Dear Lord, help me to have the faith of a child today. In the areas
where my faith is weak, make me strong. In the areas where my faith
is strong, make me stronger. I give all my worries and cares to You,
knowing that You will never leave or forsake me, and that You care
about the intricacies of my daily life. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Application Steps:
On
a piece of paper, write down something that you are presently worried
about. Place that slip of paper into an envelope, seal it, and write
God’s name on the outside of the envelope. As you seal that envelope,
consider that burden “mailed” to God.
Reflection points:
- List one thing that you are more concerned about that your
heavenly Father?
- List one thing that you have more power to “fix” than your
heavenly Father?
- List one thing in the past that you can go back and change.
- List one way that you can control the future?
- Now, these have been trick questions! What can you surmise from
your answers?
- God said His name is “I AM.” He is everything we need.
Power Verses
- “There is no fear in love” (1John 4:18).
- “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7)
- “Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have
never forsaken those who seek you” (Psalm 9:10).
- “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your
salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me”
(Psalm 13: 5,6)
- “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make
your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5,6)
Additional Resources:
 This
week's devotion was taken from:
Ultimate Makeover: Becoming Spiritually Beautiful in Christ
by Sharon Jaynes
All Scriptural references are NIV unless otherwise noted.
You can purchase this book for $12.99
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