In God's Hands
Tracie Miles

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Psalm 56:3 (NIV)

As I aroused from sleep, my first thought was, "Uggg. It is going to be cold outside." But to be honest, my anxiety wasn't so much about the cold mountain weather, but about my teenage daughter's safety that day.

We had been planning the trip for weeks and the girls were so excited that their snowboarding day had finally arrived. The wind was cold and the snow was slippery, but the sun was shining, the mountains were beautiful, and the enthusiasm of three teenage girls outweighed their shivers. We had arranged for them to take a one-hour snowboarding lesson that morning, as this was their first time on the slopes. Once we got them bundled up in their coats, scarves and protective gear, we parted ways as they walked off with the rest of the group to begin their lesson.

Suddenly, I felt this little rush of panic come over me. It was a familiar feeling, because for the past 15 years I have mastered the art of worrying about the safety of my children. When there is even the most remote possibility one of them could be hurt, my mind floods with irrational thoughts about what could happen in the worst of circumstances.

What if she has trouble getting onto the ski lift properly, and slips and hits her head? What if she can't get off the lift quick enough at the top of the mountain, and falls off and gets hurt? What if she falls off the lift seat while hoisted five stories up in the air? What if she gets too close to the edge of the slope and falls off the side of the mountain? What if she gets separated from her friends and panics all alone? What if she breaks her arm/leg/neck? What if ...

As I said, irrational thoughts. Unwarranted panic.

Since I could not run up the ski slope after her, looking like a crazed, over-protective mother, I headed back to the lodge. There I found myself praying a simple prayer something like this: Oh, Lord, I cannot be with her today. I cannot protect her. I cannot watch after her. She will be out of my sight, at the top of a mountain, far from my reach. Only You can see her. Only You can protect her now. Please keep her safe. Instantly I felt God's reassurance, and heard Him quietly speak to my heart, "Put her in My arms Tracie. Entrust her to Me."

Although I secretly preferred to hold her in my own arms and keep her safe, just like when she was a little girl, I knew I had to entrust her fully to God – just not on the ski slope, but every day of her life. I am a mere human, but God is a sovereign and powerful God. Any physical protection I could offer her pales in comparison to the spiritual protection given from our Savior.

As each of my children grow and live, I know they will face new dangers. Peer pressure will be heavy, temptations will prowl, people will hurt their feelings, dangers may cross their path and life may be hard. Our modern culture will cause them to face challenges and decisions that I did not have to deal with as a child. My comfort must come from believing that they will be in God's hands, and that He will always be with them, no matter where they go. Not just on the top of a mountain, but every minute of every day in every circumstance.

Do you know that the word "children" appears over 450 times in the Bible? Our children matter to God, and He loves them, even more than we love them. Being a parent allows us a window to see God's amazing perspective of that love.

Dear Lord, forgive me for forgetting how much You love my children and that You are always with them. Thank You for surrounding us with Your angels. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?

Authentic Parenting In a Post Modern Culture by Mary E. DeMuth

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Visit Tracie’s blog

Application Steps:
Choose to entrust your family to Christ today.

Reflections:
Do I allow doubts and fears for my children's safety to take precedence over my belief in God's protection of them?

Am I worrying about things that I have no control over, or trusting God to protect my children in the way that He knows is best?

Power Verses:
Psalm 91:11, "For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go." (NLT)

© 2009 by Tracie Miles. All rights reserved.

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12 Comments:

Anonymous sheila said...

This devotion hit me this morning.
In four months my oldest son leaves for collage. For the last year and half I have found myself worrying about him. The world is so big and even though he is 6ft 2ins tall he is so small. I pray all the time that God will protect him from all the evil stuff out there and that God will surround my son with people that will be good for him. I know my son will make mistakes, we all need to make mistakes in able to grow into the people God needs us to be but I just pray that as my son experiences life on his own for the first time that God protects him from getting in to over his head. I know God gave me my son to hold and nurture only for a little while and now I have to give him back to God. Wow, I knew the day was coming but I didn't think it would be so hard. I can't even imagine what Mary went through with Jesus. I know that with my son being in God's hands is the only place for him to be, I am just scared for my son and fully trusting that God will carry both of us.

I love how our God gives us just what we need when we need it - my anxiety has been bubbling these last few days since we've had a tragic accident in our little community claiming two innocent teenagers' lives.[Sitting still at a redlight when a speeding car hit them and their car exploded.] So random - I have to choose to give my boys [friends of theirs] to God anew each day and know that HE will be with them and me in the good and the bad. Thank you for sharing what He led you to share - J

Anonymous Stephanie said...

I'm on the other end... I just had a baby 3 months ago, and have been deleting most e-mails as I have had no time to read. I just went back to work last week, and decided to open the devotional for this morning as I'm working at home. God is amazing... this is my life verse! God really comforted me through this message by reassuring me that my two boys (2 1/2 and 3 months) are in his arms while I am away from them during the day at work.

Blogger Kelly said...

This has been a timely reminder for me as well. After a tragedy in my community of an 11 month old dieing from cancer it was so hard for me to trust my 10 month old was OK. The worst case was always coming t mind. Then I realized that She was God's. He would care for my baby. Well lately those feelings have risen again, My baby is learning to walk and we just recently moved. Thank you for the reminder that God will care for her. I have a long journey ahead of me with my child(ren) and this is a truth I need to remember.

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does God take over when we aren't there to protect our loved ones? I tend to forget that He, our Heavenly Father, is always watching over us. I am so guilty of dropping my children off with God when I can't be with them forgetting who has all the power.

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a fairly new Christiain (6 years) and my husband just gave his heart to Jesus! (though he is taking baby steps.) I was thinking how does this devotion apply to me today??? We did not raise our children in faith but did raise two wonderful children with very high morals but not Christians. Now we are expecting our first grandchild, and we are thrilled. I realize that I am afraid of what we left out of our children's life,Jesus,and sometimes dwell on this but must trust in him and know that our children matter to him at any age and I will trust him with his love for them, even greater than our love. Thank you Tracie and please pray for my daughter and her husband as they start the next chapter of their 6 year marriage.

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well this was an awesome devotion today, and yes I am guilty of worrying about my children especially my oldest son who will be 16 next month. I am really having some challenges with him right now, he is not motivated about much of anything and his grades are terrible, I am thankful that he is still a virgin and he doesn't have wild friends or anything like that, but I don't know what kind of a future is in store for him if he just continues on with this I don't care attitude. God continues to speak to me concerning my fears about my children, the other day I was watching Joyce Meyers and she gave a scripture that was very comforting concerning our children and it was Jeremiah 31:16-17 "Thus says the LORD Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears. For your work shall be rewarded, says the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future says the LORD, that your chidren shall come back to their own border." Well that comforted me, and todays devotion did as well, I am writing these scriptures down and meditatin on them and when i start to fear I pull out these verses and cry out to GOD to help me rest in HIM concerning my kids and HE does! GOD bless you all!

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I feel much the same as all of you, I also have a son who is graduating in May from High School and going off to college. I have experienced that same fear, of not being there to protect him, but as the same God has reassured me that he is there and that he loves my son and will take care of him. Just as he has all of us when we were once young. Thank you so much for this devotion and reading of scripture, it sure does help knowing that you are not the only parent out there going through some of the same circumstances, and I know that we have a awesome God that will take care of all our children.

Anonymous Anonymous said...

WOW! God is so amazing to send just what we need just when we need it! This devotion was in my email box this morning, the first one I've ever received to my knowledge. My husband & I watched our 19 year old son (he's also our firstborn child of four) get on a bus two days ago to head half way across the country for U.S. Marine Corps boot camp. You talk about worrying...that's about all I've done since then. I am thankful for this reminder of what I already knew...that God is ultimately the only one who really can take care of my son and always be with him. It is so comforting to know that it doesn't matter if my son is crossing the street in front of our home or someday across the seas fighting a war...it is still my same God that will take care of him here or there!

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I thank the person who mentioned the verses about their children coming back from the land of the enemy. What a huge comfort to hear that. Praising God for their return.

Blogger Charlene said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Blogger Charlene said...

I LOVE God's timing! Our youngest daughter almost died Tuesday night. I woke up Wednesday morning to your devotion! Thank you for being a part of His working in me.

Here's my blog post about it:

http://themiracleofthemoment.
blogspot.com/2009/04/
life-is-precious.html

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