The Big , Giant Hand
Blessed is the man you discipline O Lord, the man you teach from your law;
you grant him relief from his days of trouble until a pit is dug or the wicked.
Psalm94:12-13
The other morning as I was praising God for changing an attitude that has been plaguing me for quite awhile now; God spoke to me very clearly. I prayed, “Father, you know I would love for you to take away all of my problems, hurts and challenges. I’d love for you to lift me up out of all of my messes with your big giant hand but…..”
Before I could finish my thought, the “but”, which would have been, then I wouldn’t grow or learn or become more mature if Daddy kept rescuing me from my consequences, always smoothing my pothole laden path, God spoke to me.
He said, “But then you’d be (the name of a fairly young man I know who is a total mess.)” I’ll call him Little Man. Little Man’s mommy and daddy have been cleaning up for him for years. He has never paid for his own mistakes, walked through his consequences or taken responsibility for anything he’s done. It’s never his fault or if it cannot be denied that it is, in fact, his fault, then someone else pushed him to do whatever heinous thing he’s done. Consequently, he is a stunted, selfish person who cannot, literally cannot, take care of himself.
When I heard the words “but then you’d be Little Man.” I laughed out loud, not in a text speak, lol way, I truly laughed out loud. Then I very quickly sobered. With out God’s grace I would be just like that and before you judge me, let me tell you, so would you.
In their efforts to protect their child, Little Man’s parents have crippled him. Their motivations are not pure; they are selfish. What may have started out as protection has now become a means to avoid embarrassment and humiliation. They protected their child way past his childhood and on into his adulthood. Today he should be the protector of his own children but instead he is the person causing them the deepest pain, the most significant insecurities. Never allowed to fall, he has never learned to stand, not for himself or for the little ones who should be able to count on him.
God’s motivations are always pure. He allows challenges, heartaches and setbacks for good reasons. Without them we would all be stunted, selfish and ineffectual. We would become puppets, held to God by strings that would eventually choke us. We would not be connected to him out of love but rather out of need and fear. We do need God and we should fear him but in a reverent way not out of obligation.
My own experience is that when I recognize my faults and attempt to correct them grace flows in, enabling me to handle the consequences of my actions. Recognizing that the mess I’m in is mine to clean up, I pick up a proverbial broom. It feels so heavy and cumbersome at first but I soldier through. Making the apologies, admitting my fault, I begin to sweep it up as best I can and suddenly the broom feels lighter and easier to handle. It’s not as unwieldy or uncomfortable as it was or as I expected it to be. I realize I can do this thing. I may hate it but I can do it. Why? Simple, because there is another hand, a big giant hand on that broom with mine. It is the hand of my Father who loves me enough to let me hurt or sting a little so that I can grow a lot. I’m very grateful for that because while I am not who I want to be, I am also not who I used to be, thanks to the loving discipline of my Father.
you grant him relief from his days of trouble until a pit is dug or the wicked.
Psalm94:12-13
The other morning as I was praising God for changing an attitude that has been plaguing me for quite awhile now; God spoke to me very clearly. I prayed, “Father, you know I would love for you to take away all of my problems, hurts and challenges. I’d love for you to lift me up out of all of my messes with your big giant hand but…..”
Before I could finish my thought, the “but”, which would have been, then I wouldn’t grow or learn or become more mature if Daddy kept rescuing me from my consequences, always smoothing my pothole laden path, God spoke to me.
He said, “But then you’d be (the name of a fairly young man I know who is a total mess.)” I’ll call him Little Man. Little Man’s mommy and daddy have been cleaning up for him for years. He has never paid for his own mistakes, walked through his consequences or taken responsibility for anything he’s done. It’s never his fault or if it cannot be denied that it is, in fact, his fault, then someone else pushed him to do whatever heinous thing he’s done. Consequently, he is a stunted, selfish person who cannot, literally cannot, take care of himself.
When I heard the words “but then you’d be Little Man.” I laughed out loud, not in a text speak, lol way, I truly laughed out loud. Then I very quickly sobered. With out God’s grace I would be just like that and before you judge me, let me tell you, so would you.
In their efforts to protect their child, Little Man’s parents have crippled him. Their motivations are not pure; they are selfish. What may have started out as protection has now become a means to avoid embarrassment and humiliation. They protected their child way past his childhood and on into his adulthood. Today he should be the protector of his own children but instead he is the person causing them the deepest pain, the most significant insecurities. Never allowed to fall, he has never learned to stand, not for himself or for the little ones who should be able to count on him.
God’s motivations are always pure. He allows challenges, heartaches and setbacks for good reasons. Without them we would all be stunted, selfish and ineffectual. We would become puppets, held to God by strings that would eventually choke us. We would not be connected to him out of love but rather out of need and fear. We do need God and we should fear him but in a reverent way not out of obligation.
My own experience is that when I recognize my faults and attempt to correct them grace flows in, enabling me to handle the consequences of my actions. Recognizing that the mess I’m in is mine to clean up, I pick up a proverbial broom. It feels so heavy and cumbersome at first but I soldier through. Making the apologies, admitting my fault, I begin to sweep it up as best I can and suddenly the broom feels lighter and easier to handle. It’s not as unwieldy or uncomfortable as it was or as I expected it to be. I realize I can do this thing. I may hate it but I can do it. Why? Simple, because there is another hand, a big giant hand on that broom with mine. It is the hand of my Father who loves me enough to let me hurt or sting a little so that I can grow a lot. I’m very grateful for that because while I am not who I want to be, I am also not who I used to be, thanks to the loving discipline of my Father.
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