The Wandering Child in the Toy Store of Life

The world is an evil place, becoming more evil by the day.  Because of this, there is one thing any parent will tell you and that is that they are always going the extra mile and expense, if they can afford to, to make sure their families, especially their children, are safe.

Just for a moment, try to imagine the anguish a parent can go through if they are for some reason separated from their child.  Even if only for a moment, it is the worst feeling a parent can ever experience.  What about the times when the child is never found? Or found, but their lives taken. Even though the parents may blame God for the evil that has befallen their family and taken the cherished child they have lost, sometimes in the most unspeakable of ways, God does understand. 

In our grief and anger, we will always have a need to place blame.  God seems to be the easiest target as a parent may sob uncontrollably, screaming  inaudibly to the rafters as they pound something with their fists, asking "God, how could you allow this to happen to my baby?"

God is more than aware that the anger, while misplaced, needs to be let out, so He endures our attacks on Him because His love is everlasting, never failing and because, as a parent, who gave His only son for our Salvation, He, better than anyone, knows what we are going through. 

While God would rather good things happen to our families and our loved ones, sometimes evil just gets the upper hand.  It can take our innocence from us, which in some cases is never seen again.  It can snatch away all the joy of life, muting it to a dull feeling, rather than the overwhelming happy feeling that it should be.

While it may be easier to blame God, there is something we all tend to forget in our moments of grief and despair and that is that God "... causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous," (Matthew 5:45b).  I know it doesn't seem to be fair, but after years of searching the scriptures, I have never once found a verse where God promises that life will be fair.  Only a life that promises, to those who believe on His name, will be eternal and filled with His love, His mercy, His kindness and that He will above all, always, through the Holy Spirit, be our comfort and our hope that all is not lost and that tomorrow will bring brighter days.  He also promises that He will avenge the wrongs done to us. "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." (Romans 12:19).

The evil that lives and roams on this earth, may come in the form of the people who walk amongst us, but those evils that are done to us are without a doubt in every instance directly from hell itself. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, roams about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  (1 Peter 5:8).

Imagine the horror of a parent being separated from their child for just a moment, and then the joy they feel when they almost immediately find them.  Has it ever happened to you?  Maybe they wandered down the wrong aisle in the toy store and your heart and stomach were doing somersaults until you found them?  If this has ever happened to you, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  The fear.  The not knowing....the anguish...it's all there.  Until they are found.  I believe God feels those same exact feelings about us when we "wander off" too.  Anguish, heartache and tears...all for us because we have gone astray, away from His word, or are just downright ignoring it, not believing what we have heard when the Gospel is given to us.

We wander away from God our Father just like a child in a toy store.  All it takes is something irresistable catching our eye and our attention and our hearts are turned towards that something that might not be good for us.  And all the while as He tries to remind us He is there, giving us warnings in our heads from His word, we continue to wander away from Him anyway.  We don't listen, sometimes making very unwise decisions for our lives, hurting ourselves in numerous ways, which would grieve any parent, especially the parent who made us.  Our creator, God our Father. 

Sometimes we wander thinking we've been forgotten by God because of the choices we've made or by the evil things people have done to us, but in truth, He never leaves our side. He carries us!  " For the LORD your God goes with you!  He will never leave you nor forsake you."  (Deuteronomy 31: 6b).  It's the devil who perpetrates the lie that God has forgotten us, and doesn't want us anymore.

All the Lord wants is for us to come around the corner in the toy store so we can be found!  Just as a parent would rejoice, God will rejoice that the son/daughter who has wandered away, or who has never met Him at all, the child He thought was dead and lost forever, can be celebrated alive once again, and called His own!  "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."  (Luke 15:24).

God did give us free will, as shown by a child who wanders in a toy store.  We are free to do whatever we want, but that freedom can actually lead us into a bondage that may take years to overcome.  

Once we realize that God is still there, we can turn the aisle in that toy store of life and make the choice to come home, back to the safety of our Heavenly Father's arms, His word, better than any security system, making us safe against the snares of the devil. 

This is a choice that sets us free from the bondage we have gotten ourselves into.  Even if we don't understand it right away or the devil picks on us saying it isn't real, if we work diligently by studying God's word, especially about who we are, and how He feels about us, we will eventually understand that God has forgiven us, making us totally free! "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." (John 8:36). 

When we make the choice to turn towards God, we can experience a freedom that we have never known.  "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

Just like a child can wander away from us in a toy store, we can wander away from God.  Sometimes we wander by committing a sin, whether we know it is a sin or not and by the time the devil has us right where he wants us, we try to turn around and look for God to help us but we cannot see Him!  The devil blinds us from seeing him and all we see is a huge crowd of people standing between Him and us, and when we can't see Him anymore, it becomes easier to continue living a life of sin, despair and loneliness.  We wind up feeling abandoned and alone, but that is the lie the devil wants for us to believe!  The reason we are unable to see Him is the sin that separates us from Him!  Then as things get worse, we blame Him for leaving us at the most vulnerable times of our lives, thus making us even more miserable than we were before.   

All it takes is a prayer.  Ask God to forgive you, and the crowd between you and Him will suddenly disappear and He will be all that you can see.  His love, His mercy, His unfailing Loving Kindness are there, waiting for you!  Come home dear child.  Turn into that next aisle in the toy store of life and run into his arms.  They are waiting to hold you again!  He is waiting to rejoice and celebrate your home coming! He wants you back, just like any parent would stand in that aisle and pray their child is just a few feet away, just out of sight.

So think of it.  The joy a parent feels when they realize their child is just in another aisle of the toy store looking at Lego's and the joy they feel inside at finding them, and then contrast it with how God must feel when we repent, ask His forgiveness and once again are in agreement with Him, and back in his loving arms!  Just imagine if a parent can rejoice over finding their child, how much more will God rejoice when you decide to come home again.  He loves you and He's waiting.

Make this your best Christmas ever.  Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.  Re-dedicate your life to Christ, and you will feel joy like you haven't in a long time.

God loves you and so do I.  If you need counseling, please call.  I am here for you.  1-888-359-5439 or Tweet me on Twitter @BeABarnabus or Send Me An Email!  I will pray with you and for you and I know that the Lord will do great things in your life!

God Bless you all and keep an extra eye open in the back of your head while you do your Christmas shopping to protect those you love!