Learnable Moments For Moms: Devotions To Discover God In The Everydayনমুনা

Oh, it’s the daily battle of putting on the shoes. Instead of going for her super easy velcro shoes, my toddler has discovered her black buckle shoes in the back of the closet where I had hidden them. 

“No Mommy, not help me! I can do it by myself!” she waves her hands at me to stay away. I sigh, back off and change the baby’s diaper in the other room. I hear the silence that comes with her focusing on a task. I hear her huffing in frustration, now there’s growling and grunting. 

Inevitably follows the stomping of the feet, and finally she calls out, “Mommy, I can’t do it! I need help!” I go in the room, she has the wrong foot halfway shoved into one shoe, her hair disheveled and cheeks red. 

I take one tentative step toward her, the way one would approach a wild animal, “I can help you.” 

“No!” she screams, “Not touch it! I can do it!” I step back. “I need help,” she whines in despair, flinging one shoe to the ground in frustration. This really is a dramatic tragedy in the making! 

“Are you ready for help now?” I ask before approaching. 

“Yes,” she finally concedes, defeated. We work together to put on the shoes, and all is well...until tomorrow when we will do this all again.

READ

lf my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.

2 Chronicles 7:14-15

APPLY

We love our independence, and there are few things more satisfying than being able to do something on our own. The problem comes when we refuse to accept that we are not capable of handling even the smallest of trials that life throws at us without God’s help. In the same way that I can’t understand why my daughter won’t simply let me help her, God is expressing the same question in these verses. He is telling us that He has all of the answers, all of the capability, and the desire to help us no matter the situation. Yet we look the other way and get frustrated when we can’t accomplish the desired results on our own. He is waiting for us to surrender control so that He can step in and heal our hearts and our land. The key is to humble ourselves and take responsibility for the part that we have played in the problem, confessing sin. When we do that, God is quick to act on our behalf.

PRAY

Father, thank you for the promise that you will hear my prayers, and that you are willing to help me. Give me the humility to turn to you in my time of need, refusing to give in to the lie that I am capable of working out of sin on my own. 

REFLECT

How can I humble myself in God’s presence today?