Do you ever feel stuck, unable to move, unsure what to do next?
While growing up on the farm as a youngster, there were many times that I got miserably stuck in a predicament and didn’t know what to do next. Maybe I got a big tractor with a piece of tillage equipment buried in a sand pit or deep hole and toiled for hours in vain to drive it out. Or perhaps I tried to start an ornery engine, and it refused to turn over. Or maybe I was fixing a piece of equipment and the bolts were permanently rusted in place, impossible to wrench off. Or maybe I got the combine plugged up big-time because I was cutting clover too fast.
I was raised with a strong sense of commitment and responsibility for solving my own problems, so whenever trouble struck, I would work and work and work to figure it out. But sometimes, I couldn’t get it figured out, and I was really stuck. And I would agonize over what to do. But eventually, dad would come to the rescue. Dad always had a solution. Dad always knew what to do. And together, we’d get the problem fixed, and on I would go with the activity. This happened on the farm without fail, 100% of the time.
It took me many years to figure this out, though. It’s intriguing how a youngster doesn’t see the bigger picture of how blessings flow into his life at the time. But over the years, I started to take note of this phenomenon: that there was always a solution to any problem I ever faced. If I didn’t know it, dad did. It caused me to relax and harbor less worry and fear when I felt stuck. I still strove to fix my own troubles, but I knew that if I couldn’t figure it out, dad would. This truth brought me great peace.
Decades later, I rejoice in applying the same lesson to issues I face today. Dad is no longer around to fix my big troubles, but that’s okay. My human dad was one way my divine Dad was at work in my life at the time, and is still at work on my behalf today.
The Big Dad, or God, is always with me. No matter how stuck I might feel, I find great peace in knowing that my God-Dad always has a solution, and I can count on that solution being mine at any point.
You have a God-Dad too. Lean heavily on His wisdom, guidance and presence, and the answer you seek will be yours.
“Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee.” Jesus Christ
This is wonderful, Evan. Love that Jesus called his Father-God, Abba (or Daddy!). Yes, God can fix all the “owies”!
Thank you so much Evan. This is so timely as I have been dreading this Sunday because it is the first one since my dad passed on April 29. Thank you for these words of truth and comfort.
I mean, the first Father’s Day since he passed.
The most wonderful thing about having a human dad is when as a child, this human dad can come to the rescue as this child grows to adulthood and is taught how to rely on his real dad, God, and go to him to receive answers to fix the problem just as his human dad did. Why? Because the human dad is not there forever, but the divine dad (GOD) is.
Just the thing I need today because my dad died yesterday. I was just trying to get a grip and thought I would visit your blog and noticed “Dad” in the index and went right to this post. Thank you.