Take It To The Father

“In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” Isaiah 63: 9.

I thought about my own role as mother as I read this tender verse this morning. I look back over the past year and have seen both of my girls in deep distress through different circumstances. In addition to losing their precious aunt, one of my daughters experienced the relapse of her husband which threw her into a two month quandary of terror, fear and uncertainly as she questioned how to proceed with her three children and their future. My other daughter lost her boyfriend in a motorcycle accident which left her in deep grief, confusion and overall sadness. To sit back and experience their pain indirectly knowing there was really nothing I could do, I took comfort in the fact that God, their heavenly Father, would send His presence with both of them. I had total faith that their lives would be redeemed, through His love and mercy but still witnessed their pain and suffering.

Our response to our children in our earthly role as parents is much like God’s as He relates to His children. It doesn’t matter whether circumstances throw us into pain and suffering or we initiate suffering through our choices – the outcome is the same. God grieves with His children and suffers along side with each tear. When we are distressed He is distressed and when we feel sad He takes on our pain.

The difference between us as parents and our Father in Heaven is that He has the ability and the power to lift us on His shoulders and carry us through whatever we must experience. As a mom, I had no power in my girls’ suffering but I did know the One who had the desire to ease their pain and the power to accomplish healing.

When we find ourselves in a situation beyond our control know that our Father suffers with us and knows the way “to work everything to the good for those who love Him.”