Parenting has been both the hardest and the easiest thing I have ever done in my life. Yes, both at the same time. There are probably many who feel the very same way.
It was easy and hard to walk the floors with colic all hours of the night. The same struggle with emotions came as they went through school, endured difficult relationships, faced disappointments, rose to challenges and when they succeeded.
They’re adults now but one thing remains the same – I still want to see them succeed and thrive in life. As parents, we will always come alongside of them to encourage them to achieve their dreams.
In the early morning light, I read the words before me on the page:
“The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant.” (Psalm 35:27, NIV)
Why do the words surprise me? God is my heavenly Father. If I, as an earthly parent, want to see my children do well and am thoroughly delighted when they do, then why would God feel any differently towards any of us, His children?
Our heavenly Father delights when we are “safe, complete, in health, have success, are secure and happy” (the New Testament Lexical Aids definition for well-being). His desire is for us to live a satisfied life, with a sense of peacefulness, and wholeness.
My children will be the first to tell you we didn’t give them everything they wanted. Close. But no. There were times they were quite upset at being denied. There was no understanding why we said “no”. And truth be known, there were times we were not sure why we were saying “no”, but just knew in our hearts that our decision was the right one.
I have been a child as well, throwing a fit of some sort with God. I haven’t always liked the responses to prayer I received. But here’s the thing – I must trust Him. It is necessary that I trust He has my ultimate good in His heart. I must believe all He is doing in my life is for good – my good – even though I may not see it or understand it at the time.
His Word says He delights in my well-being. He is working all things out so that I will continue to thrive in the future.
Much the way my children’s joy brings my heart joy,
my joy brings my heavenly Father joy.
He delights in my well-being.
Today I am joining … Testimony Tuesday and Intentional Tuesday and #RaRaLinkup .
Beautiful encouragement! Thank you!
Parenting has been the same kind of journey for me, and I struggle sometimes when I look in the rear view mirror and second guess decisions made. Thank you for this meditation on “well-being,” because it sheds light on God’s good motives toward me, and establishes my purposes toward my own children.
Michele, as parents we can so second guess our decisions. But we can trust that as God works in us, He guides us in our purposes toward our children. I have been so grateful for His faithfulness to me regarding parenting. I could not have navigated those waters without His help each day. Blessings!
Don’t you just love it when you find nuggets in the Word like that? He delights in my well-being! 🙂
Absolutely I love it! It makes Scripture come alive.
Joanne, I so appreciate this perspective. Just as I’m trying to help our boys learn the multi-faceted aspects of our God, I still need to learn them. It’s just a beautiful thing to know that He finds joy in our joy. I love that He delights in our well-being. Thanks for this reminder. 🙂
Jeanne, I think there will always be an aspect of our God which we will need to learn. Life has a way of revealing Him in new and different ways. It’s what makes relationship with Him fresh and alive. Blessings!