Content in His Arms

As I was waiting to go up and see a friend in the hospital, I noticed another family also playing the waiting game. Two or three would go up at a time and in 15 or so minutes they would come back down to allow another set to go up and visit their ailing loved one.
One couple had two small children. If you were not paying attention you would have never known it. The children were amazingly well behaved. The oldest was about 3 years old, while the younger child could have been no more than 18 months. They were not fighting over toys or fussing over who got to sit with dad. They were not running about. When a bag of potato chips caught the eye of the older child she asked her father to buy it for her, motioning towards them with her tiny fingers. Her father gently told her no, he couldn’t buy it right then.
I was so surprised by what happened next. She did not pout, she did not cry and she did not throw a tantrum. She heard his answer, and it was enough. Perhaps she knew that her father would get them for her eventually, just not right then. The younger one as I can remember never left her father’s arms. She was paying attention to everything going on, but she was perfectly content to observe from the safety of her daddy’s arms.
I remember wondering if perhaps the children were alright because they were so unlike any other children I had ever seen. I laughed at the silliness of the thought—that well behaved children were so rare that it was strange, but unfortunately those were my first thoughts on that day.
As I thought about the children a bit more, another idea came to me—aren’t we supposed to be like those children?
Content in His Arms
Aren’t we supposed to be content in the arms of our heavenly father, heeding His word, and doing His will, knowing that He would never steer us wrong? Shouldn’t we trust that if only we put our life in God’s hand, everything will be just fine? Philippians 4:19 comes to mind, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The text does not say just some needs will be provided, it does not say just five needs a day, it says all of our needs. God will supply every single need we have according to his riches.
There just might be a day when someone might turn their heads and look at you, wondering if indeed you are “OK” because you are handling a situation in a manner unlike anyone they have ever seen.
When you have the assurance that your heavenly father will take care of you, there is no need to stress.
Grace Notes,
Oct. 27, 2006