Yesterday during my “God Time” (this is what I title the time I spend in God’s word and prayer each morning on my “to-do” list) I read Judges 2-3. As I read about the schizophrenic tendencies of the Israelite nation with their devotion to God I found myself thinking, “what in the world was wrong with these people?” If you don’t have time to follow the link here is a quick recap of what happened in Judges 2-3:
The Israelites followed God, then they didn’t. They faced the consequences, then cried out to God and He healed their land. Then after awhile they got tired of God again. They began worshiping other Gods. They faced the consequences, then cried out to God and He healed their land. REPEAT over and over again.
Fast forward to yesterday at the park with my little boy Riley. It was such a beautiful day so I decided to park a little farther from the playground than usual. This way we could walk by the creek and over the bridge; get the most out of our time together. Along the way we would have to cross a road or two, so I made him hold my hand. I explained to him (as much of an explanation as you can give a two-year old) that this was to keep him safe and that if he didn’t hold my hand we couldn’t go to the playground. He was completely fine with this for the first couple of minutes, but then about every minute after that he would he would try everything in his power to get out of my grip.
In those moments when I began to get frustrated I was reminded of Judges 2-3 and how much this experience was a picture of how Israel treated God. His convenant with them was for their ultimate safety and quality of life just as by holding Riley’s hand I could steer him clear of any danger.
The kicker to this whole experience was that God wasn’t just teaching me how Riley was being like the nation of Israel. In reality, He was showing me how that He takes care of me in the same way as I do my little boy; how that what sometimes feels like restriction is really freedom to live the most adundant life possible! Jesus told us in John 10:10 that He came so that we may have life, and have it more abundantly!
