There have been a number of small moments with my little guy that have had a profound impact on me. My intention was to make a post summarizing each simultaneously. I thought I would break from my tendency to be wordy and try to be concise. Obviously I’m still a recovering word-aholic, because that hasn’t happened here. Here is the most poignant one for me and my hope is to share another soon:
Little Guy: “I scared…”
Me: “It’s okay, you don’t have to be scared. Daddy is here.”
Anyone with young children (or older ones for that matter) has undoubtedly had this moment. When your child runs to you for comfort or hopes you won’t leave the room at bedtime. Sometimes my little guy plays this as a card to get to stay up later, but sometimes the fear is genuine and he needs comforting. Fear isn’t something we grow out of through the normal course of life. We all have moments of doubt and desire comfort. Where we find it is important and telling about us. My little guy reminded me that just as he turns to me for comfort in uncertainty, in unfamiliar situations, whenever he feels there is danger; that’s how I need to be with my Heavenly Father. The most marvelous thing is that God is there and willing for us to run to Him. Numerous times in the Bible people were told not to fear. A couple of my favorites are Exodus 14:13-14 and John 14:1-4. They say very much the same thing though in different ways.
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” – Exodus 14:13-14
The first told the Israelites, pursued by Pharaoh, not to fear. God would deliver them, they only needed to watch and see. In the same way, whenever my son runs to me, if he watches and sees, I will take care of him.
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”
– John 14:1-4
In John 14, the Last Supper is taking place and the disciples were being told Christ was going to leave them. The Lord reassured them to just trust Him, because even though He was leaving He would be coming back. God’s purposes for them were not ending, whatever the circumstances that precise moment seemed. More than once my little guy has fretted over me leaving for work, or even leaving the room. In either case, my intention is to return to him, because I want us to be together.
Both verses make it clear we need to see past our fears about our circumstances to see what the Lord is going to do. Our hope as followers of Christ isn’t based in our ability to deduce a good path through every scary situation we encounter in life. It’s an unwavering hope and faith in our Heavenly Father to bring about ultimate good in the way He sees fit. As I’ve said before, my little guy is smart, but he doesn’t have my perspective on things. Likewise and to a far greater extent, no matter how clever we are, God always sees the whole of things, and deserves our confidence. We love Him and we can trust He loves us, because He told us so. Is there any reason to hold to fear knowing the Creator of the universe Who sees all time and thoughts and purposes, omnipotent, can’t be trusted to care for us properly.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” – 1 John 4:18
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Brett Armstrong 
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