“Daddy! Daaaaaaaaaaaa-deeee! Daaaaaaaa-daaaaa! Dada! DADA!” My two-year-old cries out in the middle of the night. We can hear her over our audio monitor getting more frantic. She is unsure if this will be the time she’s abandoned or if one or both of her parents are on the way. My husband and I both know she won’t go back to sleep unless one of us enters her room, lets her know we heard her, and gives her comfort. My husband gets up to make sure she gets back to a good night of sleep.
In many ways, our faith in God our Father is like my daughter’s trust in her own parents. But God’s love for us is so much deeper and richer than we can comprehend. Let’s reflect on that.
God Entering In
We know that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ. We know that He came down from heaven and changed the course of history. We know that God changed our lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. As Lutherans, we can trust that God has entered into our lives in the places where His Holy Word has said He enters our lives. In Baptism, we are buried into Jesus Christ’s death and therefore united with Him in His resurrection. In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus is fully present with us (in, with, and under the bread and wine). God uses the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, transforming and sanctifying us.
Take a moment today to just think about that. The God of the universe cares so deeply FOR YOU that He created multiple ways you can trust that He is with you.
God Listening to Us
The Bible is clear that God hears our prayers. Scripture is chock-full of the prayerful words of individuals that God has preserved for us to hear. One of the most incredible instances of God listening to prayer is in the account of Job. For approximately thirty chapters, God listens to Job and his friends cry out and question His abilities. In Job 38, God responds to these prayers. He doesn’t respond gently, but He responds in a holy way. God reminds Job of His ways and His power.
I, personally, do not have difficulty finding moments to pray to God. My prayer life could of course be better, but I would say I pray often and for many things. However, I do often find myself feeling like God’s not concerned with my daily anxieties or frustrations. Scripture shows us that we can go to God with any and all emotions.
God Giving Comfort
In 2 Corinthians 1:3–4, we read,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Read that verse again. Our God is the God of ALL comfort. But God doesn’t just snap His fingers and you are comforted (though He certainly could and it sometimes feels like He does!). In this verse, we hear that He uses others to comfort us. Remember how my husband went to comfort our daughter? That was God working through him. When you receive comfort from a friend, church member, or another family member, remember to take a moment and thank the Lord for giving you comfort through that person.
I am looking forward to the days when my daughters no longer wake us up in the middle of the night for multiple nights of the week. My human, sinful self longs for an uninterrupted sleep. God’s love for us isn’t like that; He wants us to come to Him for our entire lives … no matter the hour or circumstance.
Scripture: ESV®.
During this month, find ways to reflect on Christ and your understanding of our Lord through thirty days of “prep-free” prompts.
