We have a newborn. And though I love her, you don’t hear a ton about how tough the first few weeks are. Maybe it’s because we parents don’t want to scare non-parents off. Maybe it’s because we just don’t want to complain. Or maybe it’s because we don’t really know what’s going on those first few weeks because we’re walking around in a fog of sleeplessness.
Our baby is really a good baby. She’s not all that difficult. She cries, but it’s at appropriate times. And I can tell the difference in her cries. There’s the
- I’m wet
- I’m dirty
- I’m tired
- The sun is in my eyes
- I just spit my pacifier out and I can’t find it
- You just sat down to eat, so…
- You just dozed off, so…
And then the best one is
- I’m hungry…and I don’t ever think you’ll feed me again!
With this one, there’s a desperation that you don’t hear with the other cries. It comes from somewhere deep in her gut. You can sense the fear and pain and utter helplessness. It’s sad, really. It would break your heart, too. I’m certain of it.
And this happens before each and every feeding.
Even though there’s never been once that we’ve not fed her. Not once that we’ve looked at her crying and said, “I think we’ll just let you cry this one out.” Or, “You’re not that hungry.” Or, “Quit faking it.” Or, “You can wait until we’re done doing ____.”
We feed her every single time. There’s never been once we’ve skipped that portion of parenting.
Yet she screams as if we’re not going to feed her. She quickly forgets our love.
Don’t we act like that with God?
When things begin to go awry, we start to cry.
When things get difficult, we wonder, “Where’s God in this?!?”
When things aren’t going our way, we feel like it’s all over.
When plans change. When timings slow. When promotions don’t come. When the car breaks down…again. When it seems like, from our vantage point, God’s left us all alone, and our cries aren’t heard, we cry and cry and cry. Tears turn to desperation, and we believe that God’s done with us. That He doesn’t care. That He can’t do anything about this. And even if He could, He wouldn’t want to.
But we forget that God’s gone with us. He’s never left or forsaken us. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
We forget that God’s near to the brokenhearted. (Psalm 34:18)
He’s never not provided exactly what we need. He’s never stopped being a Father to us. He’s never left His throne. His love’s never failed. (Psalm 136:1)
We feel like He’s far away, but He’s right there beside us. We just can’t see Him because we’re blinded by our pain. And we’ve chosen to listen to our ever-shifting fears and struggles rather than our never-changing Father.
May we never be so blinded by our pain that we can’t see the food God’s put right in front of us. Let’s open our eyes see God working.
