A hurricane was about to hit land in Louisiana and M (4.5 years old) heard us talking about it. Some new friends of ours had canceled their vacation due to the storm so I guess M took notice. He asked what a hurricane was and if lightning was in a hurricane. We took time to learn a little more about hurricanes together. Just a little, not too much to scare him. There was a thunderstorm going on at our house and M does not like thunder.
As M was getting ready for bed he continued talking about how he was scared of thunder and continued questions about hurricanes. He brought me his Jesus Storybook Bible for me to read the Noah story to him because it involved a storm. After our story time I reminded M that he cuddles with Daddy when he’s scared and that makes him feel better. When we’re scared we can cuddle our Daddy God and He’ll make us feel better. I asked if he’d feel better when cuddling a stranger? He thought about it then said no. I said that those that don’t know God don’t know about the good cuddling that’s available, so we should pray for them to know God through these hard things like a hurricane.
How do we know God? I made sure to tell M that we can know God by talking to Him a lot through prayer. M said he prays silently all the time and he thought I should do that too. I love his soul! I told him we can know God by reading and studying the Bible, by always having verses filling our heads. I reminded him of his favorite verse about not being afraid, Joshua 1:9. He wanted to sleep with a Bible next to him that night.
After our conversation I thought about all the people who feel like they do have something/someone to look up to like a god. Either an actual god figure or an idol like money, family, security, approval, etc. In my mind I got the picture of those people hugging a rock or a stuffed animal. These things cannot possibly hug you back like God can.
We have an incredible gift in God, in that when we hug Him, He hugs us back. We can see it in the provision He provides, in the peace our hearts can have, and in the words He whispers from the Bible. If we don’t feel His hug or His peace immediately (M came down to get us that night because he was still scared of the thunder), we can choose to be confident in His promise that He’ll always be with us. We can choose to keep praying and calling out to Him to comfort us and help us believe in Him more. We can keep meditating on scripture. We can keep asking for a peace-filled heart and a good cuddle from Daddy God. It will come.
Lord,
Help us know Your true character. May we always run to Your arms in times of being scared and in times of being joyful.
Amen.