Resting in Your Daddy's Arms...

It takes the Father's Heart to look past where someone is at the moment and call them into who they are going to be.

When Jesus looks at us, He sees His children. So many times, we are so concerned about getting things perfect, not making mistakes, and doing the right thing that we are not free to be ourselves.

Imagine for a minute that you had a newborn baby in your arms. Imagine the affections and warmth in your heart at looking at that little baby. Is that baby concerned about anything? Is that baby worried about what to do next? No. The baby is in complete and total trust and dependence on the one who is holding it.

This is the way that we should trust the Lord. He wants us in a place of total trust and dependence on Him. Babies are not concerned with where their next meal will come from. Babies are not concerned with how to pay the bills or how to handle relationships or responsibilities. Babies are completely in the hands of their parents, and they are at rest.

Of course, babies grow. They develop responsibilities and learn how to do things, and eventually they become adults. However, God wants us to stay in that same "state of being" even while we are doing. He wants us to have the realization that we are constantly in His arms. He is such a good Father and He only wants the best for us. He is our biggest fan.

The way you feel holding a baby is the same way that the Father looks at you. His heart is overwhelmed when you look at Him. Tears even come to His eyes when He sees your face. He loves you with a love only a Father can have. With the same gentleness of holding a baby, He holds you in His arms and stares into your eyes with love and affection.

It is from this place of locking eyes with our Father, that He calls us into our identity and who he created us to be. He looks past where we are at in the moment and He gives us permission to grow into all the things that He has destined us to become. He doesn't beat us over the head because we are not at a different place in our walk. He loves us where we are. He also doesn't allow us to stay in the same place forever, but the way He moves us is gentle. It is His gentleness that makes us great (Ps. 18).