Luke 22:35 - “Then Jesus asked them,‘When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals,did you lack anything?’ ‘Nothing,’ they answered.”

When you are a child, you do not expect to plan your own life, find your own nourishment, be wholly responsible for everything. It is the same for children of God. We have a loving Father who wants and expects to take care of us.

We are his children, and here he is, holding his arms wide, asking us to trust him to lead us and provide for us. I don’t like awake at night worrying how I will feed all the children we care for. Why? Because they belong to our heavenly Father. That means I am free to do anything, go anywhere, as long as I know he is leading me. Before anything else, beloved, we are his children.

Do you know that because you are his child, you are free? Free to love as many or as few as he calls you to love, free to clean toilets or climb on a plane, free to do anything he wants you to do. We are free to serve the One who is worthy, in any way that he chooses, even unto death. We can give our lives away with great joy and peace, knowing we are losing nothing.

The pressures of modern living are many and varied. While we focus on those pressures and demands, we will never be free. Learn to focus on Jesus. Watch him. Listen to him. Gradually, the background noise will subside, and the load will be lifted from your shoulders. Three year olds going on a family road trip don’t suddenly shout, “Wait, Mom, Dad! Do we have enough fuel? Have you checked the tire pressure?” They just enjoy the ride. You don’t have to worry about who you are, where you are going or how you are going to get there. Our Father has it all in hand.
(Taken from Heidi and Roland Baker’s Reckless Devotion.)

Today let’s thank our Father for this relationship that he adopted us into through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Let’s thank him that he is the one who has sent/is sending us. Let’s pray for our churches that we would be even more free to love as we freely receive our Father’s detailed and unfailing love for us.

-AP