A little girl, about 5 or 6 years old, is skipping along the sidewalk and avoiding the cracks as much as she can. She is giddy about what new and fun adventures she expects to be just up ahead. But as she reaches the end of the sidewalk, she suddenly stops. Her excitement turns into a bit of an uneasy feeling.
What should she do?
Does she cross the street and keep going straight ahead?
Or, as she looks side to side, she wonders if this is when she should be turning?
The feeling of making the decision causes her to realize she’s not as confident as she thought she was. As she hesitates, she looks back and grabs the hand of her dad, who has been following along closely the entire time.
Instantly, with his hand in hers, she gains back her feeling of excitement and pulling him along her adventure. She still doesn’t know exactly where she is skipping to, but she does know that she doesn’t want to go alone.
With this new found feeling of security, she drops her skipping pace and starts to run forward, yelling “Come on, Dad! Let’s Go!”.
Have you ever felt like this?
As this scenario ran through my mind I realized this can sometimes be how we approach life and treat God.
Sometimes we get so excited about where we want our lives to take us, that things can start to spiral out of control. We end up at a crossroads and realize we need to make a decision. We were excited about the path we were on, but it’s time to face the reality of something difficult or hard.
And, we panic.
We don’t know what to do so we look back to see if God is still there following us. We grab ahold of His hand and begin to remember the security we have when we rely on Him. But, instead of allowing Him to guide our path, our anticipation bubbles deep inside and we shout, “Come on, Dad! Let’s go!”.
” Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22)
What if instead of pulling God along in this adventure we call “life”, we stop and rest in His arms?
What if we honestly believed that where He takes us will be the best choice for our lives?
Sitting still and leaning in to Him offers a lot less worry, anxiety and pressure on our part. And, believing that when God does call us to go somewhere, He will carry us is a lot less stressful. We won’t have to run forward alone and look back to see if God is still following us. And when life gets scary and a bit out of control, we know being in His embrace is a lot more peaceful than us running ahead.
Pulling God along and coming face to face with giants at many turns only causes us to stop suddenly. And, in the midst of fear we look back to Our Father wondering what the reaction on His face will show.
What does your life look like today?
Are you pulling God along the twists and turns of your life with a “come see” attitude?
Or, are you resting in His loving arms, casting your cares on Him and waiting for Him to say, “Come see, my Child.”?
Don’t look back. Let Him carry you.
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Amanda Massingill 