God Knows Best
Every parent or care providers have experienced the frustration of getting something dirty or dangerous out of reach of a child for his own good, but only to see him or her kicking and screaming. God uses children to show us so much about our own relationship with Him. One day, my then-10-month-old son, Corban, picked up something from the floor and was about to put it in his mouth when I intercepted it right on time. He was so frustrated that he started screaming and crying because I took it away although it was not good for him. I looked at him in amazement as the Holy Spirit used this teachable moment to reveal to my heart how similar we are even as adults towards our Heavenly Father. Just like Corban acted, we kick and throw a tantrum when God says no to one thing or another for our own good. Although we are as blind and helpless as a child, we still so many times, refuse to surrender to His loving will for our lives.
It brought me to repentance when that teachable moment sank in because I remembered so many times when I thought I knew best what was beneficial to me or to my family. How many times, do we swallow crumbs on the floor when our loving Father had the best in store for us? Our Lord Jesus says in Matthew 7:9-11: “Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
This passage shows us of the abundant goodness of God that we forget so often when confronted to life’s trials and temptations. In every area of our life, God is present and always ready to let us know His will if we would only surrender and welcome it no matter what it is. My heart breaks when I realized how we love to pray and ask for His perfect will in our prayers by ending it with “May Your will be done!”. But do we really mean it? Most of the times, we are so scared of His will thinking that He likes to stop us from being happy and enjoying life! But it is the total opposite! And just like a child, we throw a temper tantrum because something got taken away from our reach when we desired it, even when we don’t have the discernment to know if it is good or not for us.
One thing that our Lord has taught me to do is to thank him for the answered prayers in my life and for those that are left unanswered! Only He, knows where they could have led me when I thought it was the right thing to do. Sometimes, it might not even be bad for us, but it is better to wait for God’s best than to settle with just what we perceive as being good. God has used my children to teach me so much about my own heart that I am so thankful for His discipline because He loves me so much. It gave me a humble heart as I realized that the same thing I am griping at my children about, I do it too with my Heavenly Father. But I am trying to remember each day that God knows best!
What has God's discipline taught you about your own heart and about His loving-kindness?
