His Presence in the Night of Life
In the journey of parenthood, there are painful processes in seeing your child mature. From the doctor to the dentist to discipline, there are moments we would rather avoid, but are necessary in seeing our children thrive.
One such step that causes the heart to ache is the journey of sleep training. Our daughter wants to be soothed every night until she sleeps and does not like to be left alone...not for one minute.
But the reality is this.
She is not alone.
In fact, via a monitor, we are carefully listening and watching for her sounds and movement. Not only that...when she is restless, we are praying for her and discussing her situation. When she is desperately crying "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" not only am I not deaf to her cries but each one reaches my heart making me long to just go pick her up, console her, and put her to sleep...but as her dad, I know that I have a responsibility to raise her to maturity and part of that is to fall asleep herself.
Let me make it clear.
My daughter does not fully understand why we aren't cuddling her until she sleeps.
My daughter doesn't like the process of going to bed.
My daughter wonders why daddy and mommy don't answer her cries in the way she wishes.
And then the picture became clear!
How often is this my life before my Heavenly Father?
He desires for His children to grow into maturity. In Hebrews 5:13-14, the writer states, "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." God's design is not that we stay a baby spiritually, but the journey of growth won't be easy.
How often does the LORD allow us to be in situations we would never choose?
How often does the LORD not answer our cries in the way we wish?
How often do we feel He has left us when the reality is that He hears our every cry, sees our every move, and His heart is moved to compassion?
You might feel abandoned in the night of life, but rest assured that God cares more than you do about your circumstance and heart.
Don't lose sight of our Father's desire...that we be conformed into the image of His Son. As Romans 8:29 reminds us (using the Message paraphrase), "God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son."
The night might seem long but the morning will come when, just as we do with Haven Rahab, the door is opened and the light comes pouring through and His warm embrace is felt.
