Thursday | Week 6

I thought I was good at submitting to God. I might have even prided myself on it. But then I had kids. As of this writing, I have two kids, who are seven and three years old. The authority in my house is well established with the parents. Still every decision, every word, and every bedtime is questioned! It’s as if each night they are surprised that we are once again going to march upstairs for our bedtime routine. The authority has been established and also must be reinforced multiple times every day.

Recently my seven-year-old was working hard to convince me that sweet tea is better at bed time than water. I insisted that water was the only option she was going to get, and my reasoning of “because I said so” wasn’t getting very far. I finally sat her down and in my slow and deep dad voice I explained to her that sometimes a dad has more experience and a larger perspective than a kid. I reminded her that I’m not a mean guy, and I actually want good things for her! She just needed to learn to trust my authority in this matter. Believe it or not—it worked! She understood and went to bed with water.

It humbles me to realize how much I am like my children when it comes to my heavenly Father. The authority has been established and His ways have proven to be best. Yet when given direction or a timeline from God, I feel the need to respond with a counter argument. God has to sit me down more often than I’d like to admit to remind me that He’s not a fun-killer or an idea-squasher, but He’s for me and wants good for me.

I love John chapter 7 because it speaks so much to God’s authority. Jesus’ words matter because they come from the Father. The time isn’t right for Jesus to be taken yet, so the guards can’t do it. Even they are under God’s authority! His authority and timing has always been perfect. Perhaps we could all work on trusting Him more quickly and more completely.