1 Peter Chapter 5

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast.” I Peter 5:10 (NIV)

A Prayer Over Our Children

Oh Lord, give my child a heart eager to serve others that You may crown her with unfading glory. May she respect and submit to those older and mature in the faith as You clothe her with humility. Lift her up, oh God, and grant her Your grace. Make known Your deep love and care for her that she may cast all her anxieties and burdens upon You. Oh Lord, cause her to be self-controlled and alert that she may resist the enemy. Help her stand firm in the faith, I pray, and restore her. Make her strong, firm, and steadfast in You, calling her to eternal glory with Christ. Oh God, I plead that You will bless her with faithful brothers and sisters in Christ who will encourage each other to testify and stand fast in Your truth. Fill her with Your peace, oh Lord, and surround her with Your love. ...

I sit here on my sun-soaked love seat in my favorite corner. Quiet settles in all the house walls and peace wraps thick around my heart. Here, I sit in quiet communion with my Lord, my God. His voice calls me from the deepest places and draws me near. Draw me nearer, nearer precious Lord, comes the memory of a song from a season past, to the cross where thou hast died. The verses resonate deep, speaking to the very depths of my heart.
     
Earlier today, I said good-bye to something I hold dear. Tears dampened the sleeve of my shirt as I wipe them away. I cry because although the good-bye be it temporary, it still cuts at the core of who I am. How I will miss it. An empty hole rips away at my heart, resonating in every fiber of my being.
     
Yet, God had spoken. Just days before, He had whispered to my heart that in the laying down of this one thing, something greater could be now borne. In the willful surrender of what I hold most dear, God would create something stronger and far reaching. But, for this to happen, my willful laying down and sacrifice must happen first. Then, and only then, in the act of surrender could the greater picture be born. 
     
Draw me nearer, nearer, pleaded my heart, to the cross where thou hast died. Even with the willful laying down of sacrifice, my heart grieved and wept. Not of bitter tears of regret but of the bidding farewell and placing on hold once more of things held dear. Draw me nearer, nearer, to Thy precious, bleeding side.
     
A juxtaposition warred within me. Eagerness and excitement for what God is doing and will do mixed with the bitter sweetness of good-bye. But even though it hurt to walk away and yield, the promise of hope yet to come tempered the pain, making it bearable. 
     
There I sat, my emotions spilling over into uncontrollable tears. For even as I felt the sting of good-bye, the outpouring of love welling in my heart took my breath away. A love so deep and wide from our Heavenly Lord filled my heart to overflowing. Then, a memory of old merged with the present, brushing my consciousness with a whisper. 
     
Self-referred to as the ‘apostle whom Jesus loved’, John leaned against the chest of Jesus. He was so close to Jesus that he felt the rise and fall of Jesus’s chest as He breathed. He felt our Lord’s very heartbeat. My heart stood still. Here was the answer to my cry. Here was the balm for the empty grief I felt inside. My head bowed low. My spirit cried out.
     
Oh Lord, let me draw so near You that I can feel the very breath that You take. May I know You so intimately that I know when Your chest rises and falls. Draw me nearer, oh God.
     
Soon, the tears of pain that fell were replaced with tears welling from a deep sense of being loved by a love of which I did not deserve. A love so tangible and real that the banks of my heart could not contain its outpouring, overflowing like a river down my cheeks. For sometimes pain exists in the offering. It has come at a price and has cost us all that we have and all that we are. It has cut us and laid us low. Yet, sometimes the most fragrant of sacrifices we bring the Lord have been borne of our greatest pain. For it is this very pain that has cut away the rocky layers to reveal the priceless diamond inside, buffing out the rough spots and leaving a jewel of rare worth.
     
​Christ is the ultimate example of the laying down of something beloved to gain a far greater good. After all, He is God’s beloved one and only Son.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16, NKJV) Without Christ willingly yielding Himself to the clutches of man, death would never have been defeated. It took the sacrifice of what was perfect, flawless, and sinless to restore life everlasting. It took the laying down of full divinity to take on human flesh for God’s greatest victory and triumph to be born. 
     
It is sometimes this way with us. God may ask us to lay down enjoyable activities and good pursuits for God’s greater calling. In certain seasons or points in life, God calls us into deeper waters that we may yield a greater harvest. He may even ask us to temporarily withdraw or lay down areas of giftings so that He may use us in greater works, in greater ways, with larger impacts for Christ. We just need to be willing to go where He tells us to go and trust Him in the following.
     
We also need to trust Him in the laying down and the surrender so that He might accomplish greater things in and through us. It is hard to lay down that which we find good, satisfying, and enjoyable. Trust me, I know. But I also know that willing surrender births great blessing and joy. God honors those sacrifices that are heartfelt, that which we hold dear, and that which has laid us low. For in the very act of surrender, we yield to God’s Will and to His best. When we place God first in our lives and honor Him with our own priorities, gifts, effort, time, then we open ourselves to the fullness of God’s great abundance.
     
As we draw nearer to our Lord with each sacrifice, each surrendering, each yielding to His will, we empty ourselves and make room to be filled with Christ. And as we become more filled with Christ, we become more like Him, shining His light into the most hidden and dark shadows. Moreover, as we become more like Christ and are replete with Him, our thirst for Him increases; drawing us ever nearer to our Lord.
     
​Dear friends, fellow parents and grandparents, I encourage each one of you to examine your lives and your children’s lives. Are there things crowding out a closer relationship with the Lord for yourself or your children? Do distractions exist which prevent a more passionate and full pursuit of God’s calling? Is there something God is calling you to surrender so that you may live a life of joy and peace? May Christ draw each one of us nearer to Him this day.

Musical Inspiration

​A Parent’s Prayer

Oh Lord, draw me nearer to You so that I may know You. Draw my children and my loved ones close to You that they may never stray. Hold tight to me, Jesus, and do not let me go. Draw me close to You, oh Lord, ridding me of all distractions so that I may be solely Yours. Amen.