She has been told a hundred times, If her mother and I are on the other side of the house and she wants us, she is to get up, walk to where we are, and then tell us what she wants. Yet, there she was, like normal, sitting on the other side of the house screaming…”Daddy…Daddy…DADDY!!!!”
Now, understand we have a history with this. The first couple of times she lifted her voice in an urgent demand my wife or I would go running just to make sure she hadn’t turned a bookshelf on top of her, or got her leg stuck in between the spindles in the chair, or something worse. By the way, both of our older girls have had both of those previous experiences during their childhood. But with this, our youngest daughter, thus far it has never been anything more serious than a seven year old who doesn’t want to leave her temporary spot of amusement and believes that her parents should come running at her beckon call.
So, there I was getting ready for an important meeting and time was of the essence. As I’m finishing up so I can run out the door, she is sitting backwards in my rocking chair and raising her demands at a volume level that could be heard three houses down. To be honest, my first reaction was a cold chill of frustration that ran up my neck. I wanted to yell back at a volume level that would put hers to a quite shame. Yet, just as I was about to respond, a thought hit me; “How often do I sit and yell for God to come running to my call?” Better yet, “How does God respond to me when I stand defiantly and demand His attention to what I perceive to be an immediate need?”
That’s when the realization of grace poured freshly on my soul. My frown of aggravation softened to a smile of understanding. My impulse to lash back became a passion to extend grace. My thoughts turned from my busy schedule to the joy of a father’s love.
Aren’t you grateful to know that you have a Heavenly Father who loves you so deeply that He extends grace to you, even when you sit defiantly in your chair demanding He give your request His full attention? Romans 8: 15 says that due to our place in Christ Jesus, we can cry out to God and say, “Abba, Father.”
I’ve heard it said that there is no more intimate title for Father than the word “abba.” In essence, it means “Daddy.” You can call upon God as if you were calling to your “Dad.”
You can rest assured that when you call on Him, He will extend His ear and His arms toward you. Refresh yourself today in the love of your heavenly Father.
