I remember the first time I took my son to a day care. It was a traumatic day as I left him with a bunch of total strangers. I physically walked away from him as he was crying and then as I left, I cried. 
From my perspective I believed that I was dong the right thing, but from Wesley’s, he probably thought I was abandoning him. 

Well, today I dropped my 30 year-old son, Wes, off at the airport as he went for a job interview in another state. On the two-hour trip to Midland we talked about life and family. We talked about God and how He teaches us to navigate life with all its turns and disappointments. And it was this morning that God showed me this picture of how He seems to abandon us, but never really does. You know what I’m talking about. The times in which we think we’re all alone, when the prayers seem unanswered, the dreams seem unfulfilled, the problems insurmountable. We’re left crying at the day care and God is driving off. 

God teaches us many things from His Word in father and son terms. From A to Z---Abraham and Isaac to Zechariah and John the Baptist, we learn the hearts of fathers. When Abraham laid his son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice (and some Bible scholars believe Isaac was about 30 years old at the time) God the Father knew what Abraham was about to do. What Abraham needed to see was his own will in action---his own will surrendered to his heavenly Father. And in Hebrews 11, Abraham’s faith becomes very clear, “Abraham figured that if God wanted to, he could raise the dead. In a sense, that's what happened when he received Isaac back, alive from off the altar.” (The Message)

Rest assured, when we don’t think God is there, He is. When we don’t think He cares, He does. He understands every molecule of us because He created us. In those times of testing, He’s not trying to figure out how strong our faith is---He already knows that. In those times of testing He’s actually revealing to us how much faith we have. And even when our faith wanes, our Father in Heaven never forgets. Zechariah’s request for a son seemed to go unanswered, but one day when Zechariah was old and his wife barren, God showed up and an angel said, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John.” (Luke 1:12 NIV)  And of course the ultimate instruction comes from God the Father to God the Son. As the Son fell on His face in the garden of Gethsemane He cried, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” And as Jesus hung on the cross He cried out in a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Though we may never totally understand this most awesome mystery of the cross, we do know this---the Father, who seemed to abandon His own Son, brought Him back to glorious life and victory! And today, right now at this very moment, the Son is sitting at His Father’s right hand praying for His children---you and me. 

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NLT )


Free Indeed, Harold Watkins