| Selected Passages | Christine Davis
Do you ever feel like walking with God is too difficult? Like he is just waiting for you to fall so he can punish you? Some people portray our Heavenly Father in this way, but nothing could be farther from the truth!
Imagine a young dad going for a walk with his little boy who is just learning to walk. The toddler is doing just fine until he takes a tumble and falls, as little ones often do.
Would his father scold him, disown him, or punish him for falling? Of course not! A loving father would help him up, brush the dirt off of him, and hold his hand as they continued walking together. The father would even carry his little one if he became weary.
Why? Because a good father loves his child, and knows what is best for him. Even though the little one cannot possibly comprehend the depth of his father’s love, he knows that he is safe in his arms because his father loves and cares for him.
Just as children learn to trust their parents as they receive and reciprocate their love, we learn to love and trust our Heavenly Father, as we walk with him daily.
We recognize his care and provision in our lives, but we cannot begin to comprehend the depth of his love for us — a love so great that he would send his only begotten Son into a cruel world to offer himself as a sacrifice for our sins!
1 John 3:1 says, “How great is the love the father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.” If you have accepted Christ Jesus as your savior, you are a child of God. He loves you more than you can possibly imagine; nothing will ever change that! The apostle Paul put it this way, “I am convinced that nothing will ever separate us from the love of God.” 1
As we walk with the Lord daily, we do our best to keep pace with him. But, how does our Heavenly Father respond to us when we stumble and fall? Does he berate us or punish us? Does he walk away from us until we can “get it together” and “walk without falling”?
Of course not! The Psalmist reminds us, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him; For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” 2
We are the ones who often have trouble forgiving ourselves. We wrongly believe that if we could “have greater faith” or “be better Christians” we could walk with the Lord and never falter. God created us; he knows how fallible we are. He promises his children, “Even to your old age…I will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you.” 3
As our loving Heavenly Father, he expects nothing more of us than to walk faithfully with him! When we fall he is right there to help us up. And when we are too weary to go on, he carries us safely in his arms until our strength is restored!
1 Romans 8:38
2 Psalm 103:13-14
3 Isaiah 46:4
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