Trusting God in Difficult Moments: Make a Monument
Proverbs 3:5-8
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.”
Being a father is hard work, but in the times when I need to put my foot down or put up a roadblock, it doesn't feel like work. The love I have for my kids is what drives me to hold that line, to have my Gandalf moment of, "You shall not pass!!"
Afterward, I feel worn out and mentally tired, but in the moment, I draw strength from knowing that this is my God-given job and that it will make a difference for the rest of their lives.
Of course, I pray for each of my kids daily and throughout the day also. Depending on what we are going through, I pray for the Lord to give me the strength to not make things worse. What this does is teach me to rely on the Lord through all situations we may encounter, especially the big life lessons that seem to be coming up more and more.
One of the areas where we, as dads, need to have faith is our kids' safety. I ask the Lord daily to protect them, and I know He will, but when a problem arises, worry comes in like a flood. Trusting God in difficult moments means that when the worry comes, we have somewhere to take it.
Last night, I got a text from my wife that my daughter had been hurt at the gym. She is on a competitive cheer team, and the stunts they do are pretty intense, so injuries are usually pretty bad.
The habit that I made of praying over everything that came up did its job. I prayed in my head and instantly felt peace. My wife said she was going to take my daughter to urgent care because even after putting ice on it, she still couldn't straighten her elbow.
While they were in the waiting room, my wife and daughter prayed. God showed up, heard their prayers, and answered them. My wife asked my daughter if she could move her arm.
The face my daughter made was pure surprise. She straightened her arm! She bent her elbow, lifted it up, rotated it, and moved her hand—no pain.
They got up and, in faith that God had healed her, walked out of urgent care and actually went back to the gym to finish practice.
God healed my daughter. I believe that completely because we trust God with her safety every day. As always, my faith in the moment could have been better, but that is what these moments are for—growing our faith. Trusting God in difficult moments doesn't mean we never feel worry; it means we have learned where to go when the worry comes.
Just as the Lord instructed Joshua to make a monument to remember what they came through, as the Lord delivers us from trouble, we need to make sure we honor the Lord's work, remember it, and learn from it. Making a big deal out of it with our daughter is exactly how that happens. Showing her that it could have been so much worse, but God.
These moments become monuments. They remind us what God has done so the next time fear comes rushing in, we have something to look back on. Trusting God in difficult moments grows when we remember the moments when He has already shown Himself faithful.
Have you made a monument?
Thank you, Father, for one more day. Amen
Philippians 4:6-7
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
