The little girl was blind from birth. She was enjoying a lazy afternoon on the front porch nestled in her father’s lap. A family friend happened by and thought he would have some fun with the unseeing and unsuspecting child. He climbed up the front porch like a cat on a prowl. In an instant he snatched the child from her father’s arms and ran into the big front yard. Much to his surprise the girl did not make a sound. In fact, rather than trying to wiggle free she began to relax in the strong arms that held her prisoner. The friend stopped, put her gently on the ground and then gave away his identity. “Were you afraid?” he asked. “No,” she replied. “Well, did you know it was me?” Again the response was a simple, “No.” The man was curious. “If you couldn’t see me and didn’t know who I was, why were you willing to let me take you away without so much as a peep?” Her answer was revealing, “My daddy could see you and he knew who you were. Since you didn’t frighten him I knew I was okay.”
The little girl understood the security of daddy’s arms. Jesus used a similar analogy to explain just how safe his children are.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-30 ESV)
Real security—the kind that stills the troubled heart—comes from the certainty that we are safe in the Father’s arms. Is God afraid? Is he worried? Is he ever caught off guard? The answers are “No,” “No,” and “Absolutely not!” Safely tucked in the Father’s arms you have nothing to fear. Like the young child you can relax.
FOCAL POINT: Be on the lookout for the strong arms that cradle a child or the bulging biceps of a bodybuilder. Let each remind you that you are safe and secure in the Father’s arms.
Copyright © 2009 Tommy Kiedis