IN THE HAND OF YOUR FATHER

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

When our daughters were three and five years old, we took them to a hotel with a swimming pool. We had a long, stern talk about the importance of water safety and the risk of drowning.

My talk may have been a little too effective. As Laura was jumping into my arms while I was in the water, three-year-old Mallory slipped from a sitting position on the edge of the pool. She was underwater for less than a second, but when I pulled her up, she was sobbing. “I drowned!” she cried. “I drowned! I drowned!” From her perspective, it was terrifying.  From my perspective, however, it was actually kind of funny.

“No, honey,” I replied sympathetically.  “You didn’t drown. You were only underwater for a second. You’re fine…So let’s not tell Mommy about this.”

Mallory was never in danger. I knew that even though she didn’t. Her father was always watching her, able to scoop her out of trouble at a moment’s notice. I was what you might call “a non-anxious presence.”

Jesus knew that no earthly situation has the power to put you outside God’s care. You are always in the hand of your Father. So when death itself comes for us, it will be like Mallory dipping in the pool, and we will come up saying, “I drowned! I drowned! I drowned!” and the Father will say, “I had you the whole time.”

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want To Be”


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