It might not be fair to try to shield him from peril. A man must run his own risks in life.”
–William MacLeod Raine (Six-Gun Feud)
“Hide me from the scheming of the wicked, from the mob of evildoers, who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim bitter words like arrows.”
–Psalm 64:2-3 (HCSB)
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There is such a thing as over-protection and over-indulgence. I used to say that the hardest job in life is to be a teenager’s parent. You have to know when to aid when they take a fall; sometimes you have to let them take a fall. The main thing is that when you do let them fall, you are there to help them back up. If you never let them fall, then when they get to college and fall, who is there to pick them up?
The times are desperate so do not be deluded. With postmodernism on the rise there is more and more risk of delusion. In fact, they delight in chaos, confusion, and deconstruction. Hmmm, who is the author of confusion? Our youth today are finding themselves in a quandary. When times get tough they don’t know what to do or where to turn. When things don’t go their way they are quick to blame others or simply have a meltdown.
However, as believers, even in the midst of hard, tough times we have a Savior. We have a heavenly Father to whom we can turn. He may not provide a miracle, or perhaps, the miracle is that He walks with us through the situation.
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father!'”
–Galatians 4:6 (HCSB)
There are several things we can gather from this verse. First, we have a heavenly Father. We are to know Him as our Father. He is, in reality, more real than anything we see. See, the Christian starts with the ultimate and eternal and then they work back to the present. God is in charge, now look at the situation. How is He working? How is He working in you? Lloyd-Jones stated, “Those who have not prepared for the ultimate before they face the present are living in a fool’s paradise.” Jesus Christ must be central. If He isn’t, the person is living a delusion.
There was a teaching, not long ago, saying that this verse meant “Daddy, Daddy.” Not so. I heard that several times so I had to do some studying into it. Certainly “Abba” is an endearing word, such as “daddy.” There are times when we can rest in His arms, when He is certainly our “daddy.” It is like a kid asking for the keys to the car, and while his “dad” throws him the keys, he gives him a twenty dollar bill as well and says to have fun. Sometime during the night, he doesn’t see the stop sign, and runs into another car. He is in a situation where he must call home. Now he must face his “father.”
Even when facing the “Father” we should have no fear. He is a loving Father. At times He may have to chastize and discipline, but He always does it with love. There are those times when He allows us to walk through the issues of life and He doesn’t catch us, but rest assured He is always there to pick you up.