I strapped Elizabeth into her car seat. She complained, "It's too tight. I don't like it!" With loving resolve, I assured her,"Yes, I know, but you are safe."Sometimes God's directives and plans seem to harness us in. His ways can seem uncomfortable and we don't like it. But God's plans are always for our safety.
And many times our idea of safety contradicts His. We are consumed with the temporal. He is concerned with the eternal.
With His protection, we are free.
Free to travel through life without cause for worry. Able to enjoy the journey and safely withstand the bumps and jolts along the way. Safe and secure.
All through the books of prophecy, God addresses "yokes" of slavery and servitude of man. Then in Galatians, Paul warns believers NOT to submit to these "yokes" of legalistic bondage. Finally, Jesus Himself, in the book of Matthew, says, "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Isn't it interesting that light burdens and gentle rest are found in solid restraint...bound in slavery to Christ?
"When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 3:20-23
**UPDATE
After reading this, Philip responded: "You know what my problem is? I don't want to sit still that long. I think a lot of times God just wants me to sit and be still. I'm terrible at that. Sometimes it's just easier to stay busy."
I love that man! So, in the spirit of a toddler on a roadtrip, we remind ourselves...
"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah." - Psalm 46:10-11
