In His Arms

“‘Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me…I go to prepare a place for you… that where I am, there you may be also.’ ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’” John 14:1-6

Some of my greatest memories revolve around the 3 times I was putting together a nursery for my babies to enter this world. I carefully chose the furniture, a crib that would protect them as they slept. I decorated with soft colors that would be soothing to their eyes. I purchased things that would provide for them from the time they drew their first breath. And most importantly I placed a rocking chair in the room where I would tenderly hold them and build intimacy with them. These were precious times of preparation and I wouldn’t exchange them for anything in this world. This morning as God lifted this beautiful verse to my mind, I received a new message from an old favorite. This verse has always meant to me the comfort of life in exchange for the sadness of death. But this morning, I am blessed to hold the prism in a different light. This morning the prism sparkles with the message of the present. God not only prepares for our eternal home, but He has prepared for us the circumstances of today and the seasons of tomorrow. Just as we carefully and lovingly prepared nurseries for our children, He goes before us in every circumstance and prepares things along the way that we will experience. He sets protection in place, soothes our fears by placing His comforts around us, and provides for us in every way. But never must we forget that place of shared intimacy that He puts in every season to hold us close…to whisper in our ears in the dark…to console and comfort us…and show us how He prepared for our particular moment...He gently rocks us.

God has been preparing for us, in us and around us since before we drew our first breath. ‘We shouldn’t be surprised to learn that God has been getting things ready for us. He has done this all along for His people. Before He created man and woman, God planted the garden that would feed them. Before He called His people out of Egypt, God called an infant Moses out of the reeds of the Nile. Before Jesus died to promise salvation for all, God watered the tree that would become the cross. God is preparing things for you even now.’ Ready – Finding the Courage to Face the Unknown, Heather M Dixon, p.73.

To the person who will begin treatment…God has given the knowledge to the ones who will care for you. To the parent who is scared to death about losing their child…God has made a promise to never leave them and will guide them home. To the lonely heart, God is moving and preparing hearts to receive love…watch for His movement. To the brokenhearted who is grieving, God has given our loved ones their mansion and is preparing ours for an amazing reunion. God has been preparing for our lives before we ever took a breath. Just as our children trusted us as we watched over them, we must trust God completely as He executes the beautiful plan He has for every one of us.

‘Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you…’ Jeremiah 1:4-5.