All you need to do
is hold on
to the one,
who is the Way.
John 14 5-6 “Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Recently on the way to my chiropractor appointment for some much-needed healing of wonky back pain and headaches I’ve been dealing with, I was surprised to receive another kind of healing through the power of prayer.
I happened to be alone in my car (which is rare because I have four active kids), so I was able to blast and fully engage with Chris Tomlin’s worship song “Good Good Father” without interruption. I have always loved that song but was particularly moved by the lyrics on that day. They touched my soul and lifted me into a state of communion with God in a way that only music can:
The song is amazing! If you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend listening:
Here are the lyrics:
Oh, I’ve heard a thousand stories
of what they think you’re like
But I’ve heard the tender whisper
of love in the dead of night
You tell me that you’re pleased
and that I’m never alone
You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
Oh, and I’ve seen many searching
For answers far and wide
But I know we’re all searching
For answers only You provide
‘Cause You know just what we need
Before we say a word
You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
Cause You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us
You are perfect in all of Your ways
Oh, You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways to us
Oh, it’s love so undeniable
I, I can hardly speak
Peace so unexplainable
I, I can hardly think
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
As You call me deeper still
Into love, love, love
You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
You’re a good good Father
It’s who You are, it’s who You are, it’s who You are
And I’m loved by You
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am
You’re a good good Father
You are perfect in all of Your ways
You are perfect in all of Your ways
I think the song touched my heart so deeply on that particular day because it whisked away a lot of the stress and pressure I’d been putting on myself, reminded me of the great love God has for me as His beloved daughter and helped me genuinely experience that love in a tangible way.
Due to some curve-balls with my kids health and my own, along with a few too many extra commitments as a family, life had stripped away all the time, energy, resolve and clarity to work on my writing and service toward refugees. I was bare-bones exhausted but feeling pressure and self doubt about this, along with fear and frustration. In my weakness, I had been praying for Christ to reveal His strength to help me move forward on these projects, which I believe are important to Him. I was being hard on myself for my failing to be able to “do it all.”
As I experienced the unconditional love God has for me as His beloved daughter through the beautiful song, I realized He fully supports and justifies the love and support I’d been pouring into my own kids through their struggles, which was causing me to put some other things on the back-burner – at least for the time being.
As I experienced the unconditional love God has for me as His beloved daughter through that beautiful song, I realized on a deep level that it’s not God, who expects me to “do it all” – God only hopes that I will learn to trust Him to “do it all” in His own unique way, in His timing.
God is love. He is not the one who puts pressure on us and shames us for our struggles and limitations of time and energy. God is the “good good Father” who cares about our hearts and is constantly pouring love into us and restoring us to wholeness until we are filled to overflowing and naturally able to start pouring more and more of that love into the world around us through service to others. God never abandons us in our time of need, when we are exhausted and overrun. He is truly our Strength in weakness, our Rock and Fortress, our shelter from the storm of pressures in this life. He is as concerned with our well being as He is with everybody else’s. He sees my heart and desire to serve as many people as possible, along with my love for Him and cherishes me for who I am even in my feeble attempts to make a positive impact outside of my home.
After listening to the song, I had a vision, which I think was a gift from God and worth sharing because it could possibly touch the hearts of others as well. For the record, I feel funny saying I was driving and had a vision at the same time, but it’s true. It felt more like an infusion of spiritual guidance, like a nudge from the Holy Spirit only more detailed than they usually are for me.
In my vision (which I really did have while safely driving a car because God is good and capable of all things), I was like a child walking through a crowded marketplace with Jesus. He was tall and walking in front of me, emitting a vibe of strength, confidence, love, playfulness and joy with His hand outstretched in a welcoming way toward me. While He was magnetic, happy, joyful, strong, capable and in a state of total peace like He knew exactly where He was going and what He was trying to accomplish by taking me along, I was small and trying to keep up, trying to hold onto His strong hand without getting distracted by everything going on in the marketplace. Though I could sense He was trustworthy and wanted to follow Him, I was also distracted, small, slow, uncertain, scared, excited and having to try really hard to focus on trying to keep up with Him and keep my hand in His.
Through this image and all the emotions that went with it, I think God was trying to teach me to trust the direction Christ is taking my life and to stop trying to control the details of how things work out with my family and service work.
My temptation is to stop in the marketplace and tangibly make my own plan because from the outside, it seems like that’s what everyone’s doing. But like in the vision, I can feel God calling me forward with Him through the marketplace right now, and deep inside I believe that I need to follow Him in this relationship and trust Him to make all things good in time for the highest good of all. If I’m honest, everything good in my life and everything good I’ve been able to do for others has come from following that sense of Christ’s guiding hand through darkness and Light and my trust in the loving connection I have with Him, even when it requires me to slow down and take care of myself in my own personal frailties.
I didn’t get the sense that there is anything wrong with the marketplace – there is certainly nothing wrong with writing or fundraising for refugees like I am called to. But I do feel that God is calling me into communion with Him above all things. Jesus is calling me on a path of surrender and love. I need to more fully trust that things will work out if I just take His hand and allow His love to pour through me into my family and those around me including myself, while staying open to moving forward on those other projects when the time is right.
God is calling me to deeply understand that it’s not about me and even the good works I may or may not be able to accomplish, it’s about Him and His loving plan for my life, along with the lives of all His beloved children on earth.
In my humanity, I will never be “enough” so to speak, but in His Divinity, He will ALWAYS be enough.
He’s the Father, I’m the beloved child.
He is strong, I am weak.
He has clarity, I have no idea what I’m doing.
He is peace.
He is wisdom.
He is in “perfect in all of His ways.”
He is everything I want and hope for in this life and the next.
I clearly should do my best to hold onto my “good good Father’s” hand and resist the temptation to be distracted by my own feeble attempts to take charge.
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Can you relate to anything in this post? Do you struggle to hold onto God’s hand through life and allow Him to take the lead when things aren’t going the way you think they should? Comment below, and I’ll be delighted to keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
Lord give us the grace to hold onto Your hand and follow You through the joys and sorrows of life. Give us the grace to tangibly feel Your strength, joy and reassuring Fatherly presence of love in our hearts, so we can stay focused on Your Divine Presence in our lives. Help us to more deeply grasp, understand and live by what you meant when You said “I am the way, the truth and the life.” In Jesus name, we pray.
written by Nicky Gant http://www.uniteinprayer.org 11/21/2019