The Father Loves You By Pete BriscoeSample

Day 3
Your Ever-Present Comfort

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee. —Augustine

Life’s a struggle. Everyone will tell you that. No matter where we end up, we wrestle with a wide array of problems and difficulties—financial, emotional, physical, etc. And for every problem we encounter, there’s no shortage of proposed solutions. Some of the go-to suggestions we hear from earthly fathers include “sort it out yourself” and “get your nose to the grindstone.”

But unlike either of those stances, our heavenly Father tells us one thing that encompasses any problem we might face:

The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14)

God will give us rest? Some of us had fathers who pushed and pushed us to the brink of mental and physical exhaustion. God the Father is different. He comforts us. Yes, He has things for us to do—and those things are very important—but Scripture makes it clear that those things are done by depending on God’s strength working through us, rather than us using our strength to try to do things for Him.

“It was I [God]who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek and I bent down to feed them.” (Hosea 11:3-4)

In this passage from Hosea, we see that God not only takes our burdens, but He WANTS to take them because of His unending love for us! There is no limit to what He is able to handle, nor to what He will do for you. That brings up a pretty deep question:

What have you been struggling with in your own strength, rather than trusting it to the Father who loves you?

Father, take the burdens I’ve placed on myself. I can’t tackle these things on my own. I release to You what I’ve been trying to do myself. I give up trying on my own. I trust in Your strength so I may constantly rest in Your comfort. Amen.