There is a deep need we feel in times of distress that can only be fulfilled by our Father. In the same breath there is a need that we feel when we are content that can only be met by our Father.
Our youngest daughter does not yet sleep through the night at almost 8 months old. She wakes up every 2-3 hours still, which is vastly different than her older sister who slept through the night at 1 month old. ( Remember this, I’m going to come back to that point later.)
A few nights ago as I heard our baby cry out for mama in between screams, I sleepily got up, scooped her from her crib and held her. She quickly fell back asleep and let me put her back down. Other times she needs to be nursed, held for a bit longer, rocked, it changes every time. What doesn’t change is that it is a need that must be met by her parents. If we don’t come in a scoop her up, feed her, comfort her, she will continue to cry until we meet the need.
How beautiful that God weaved into infancy an illustration of needing things that only our Father can provide. You see, I sat there and rocked her and thought of all the times the Lord has met needs of mine that only He could have met. How incredible it was to be in a moment and realize, when he created us in His image, he put little nuggets of visuals to make His love for us tangible to us.
Okay, stay with me, here we go:
Our baby soley depends on us to meet her needs. She cries out for us even if she just wants to play. When did we lose that? When did we lose the desire for our Father to meet our needs? When did we begin to fulfill a hunger with worldly things? To begin to look for comfort behind a screen? God calls us to mature but with that we have to keep the nuggets of wisdom he knit in us. The visuals and illustrations He has weaved into His creation to remind us whose we are. Spiritual maturity is experiencing those moments and realizing that God is working through those, longing to show us something simple that we are missing.
Friends, there is a hunger in us that only He can fill. There is a comfort that only He can offer. There is a provision that only He can provide. There is a joy that only He can give.
When we cry out what or who do we look to to meet our need? It is vital that we realize that God longs to be our sole provider. He longs for us to look to Him because he has everything we need and desire.
Friends he provided in the wilderness for a people who doubted. He sent His son to die a horrible death though innocent so that we would never have to be separated again. That is how much He longs for us. To fill a hunger. To offer comfort. To provide for us. To deliver us joy.
In the same illustration that all of my children have needed us at different levels through infancy that we have met, our Father meets us wherever our needs are. Bear, our second child, did not need us for comfort throughout the night but she needed us something fierce in the daylight hours. So we met the need.
Maybe my hunger is different than yours. Maybe my provision looks different. Maybe I need more comfort in the dark seasons. Whatever the difference, our Father is there to meet each of our needs on an individual level. He is there to offer up himself in whatever way we need.
So parents, next time you are meeting a need for your entrusted child, take a moment to remember that you are being the example of our Father to them. You are showing them what it is like when they cry out for their parents to meet their need. When they long to be satisfied. Are we meeting their needs joyfully? Are we being an example of what their father longs to be for them in the years ahead of them?
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19 ESV
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