Be Ready For Him

January 17, 2021

And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

~I John 2:28~

I know most of us are in our "I feel so old" faze, or the "I wish I could be a child again" thought process. Most days can be so tiring and it's a lot of work to be a grown up, isnt it? John speaks to us as "little children" of God. You know how when a mother or father says to their child "you'll always be my baby no matter what age you are?" Well same goes for God, only with God we have constant guidance. Our earthly parents do their best with what they have but eventually they have no choice but to send us children out on our own and cannot truely baby us their whole lives. They are only human too, and they get older as well. With God, we are never sent out on our own. He is always leading us by the hand to help us walk through this world, just as a parent would to their baby learning how to walk for the first time. "Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you."(Isaiah 46:4)

We are always learning every day until the moment we leave this world. Isaiah heard these words spoken in comfort as the Father promises to carry us even as we are old and gray. Eventually our earthly parents will pass away but our Heavenly Father will never pass away. He is eternal and will never leave us orphans. When we can look to our Father for trust and support we form a special bond with Him. That bond continues to grow each time we speak to Him in prayer, ask Him to teach us in the ways of this world and get to know His truth in His written word that is never changing. Just as He is living and eternal, His word is as well. The more we abide and ask the Holy Spirit to open our spiritual eyes to Him for understanding we will grow in the Lord Jesus, lining ourselves up with His kingdom and less with this world. When a child trusts in their mother or father and has a special relationship with them, they know that wherever their parents take them they will be safe. Even if something were to happen, the parents would pull them out of it. This is the same connection we should be making with our Father in heaven. With our Lord Jesus Christ. This way when He does return it does not throw us off, we will be ready for Him to pull us out of the chaos around us. The more we fill our hearts with His commands, His words and His light we take our eyes off the darkness around us and look forward each day for Jesus to return for us.

"Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." (Deuteronomy 11:18‭-‬19)

Let us fill our childrens heart with the word of God, teach them to go to Him first but also ourselves as little children to seek Him first and foremost. He is always right there to bring us through to the very end just as He promised.

"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:20)

We must always observe His teachings and grow ourselves in Him each day. The times we live in are very different but Jesus warned us of this; "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:6‭-‬8)

As Jesus warns us, He also comforts us. His promises are made and kept. We must keep ours. "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:40)

We are told to be watchful, alert and aware as any moment could be His arrival. When we focus more on worldly things we take our eyes further off Christ. When we focus more on heavenly things we lock our eyes fully on Christ and we tend to be more ready for whenever His time may be. This is what we are told to do as His little children, to be ready for Him so we are not caught off guard or ashamed at how we are presenting ourselves when He does come. Each day let us ask ourselves, "Would Jesus be pleased with me today if He were to show up?" Ask the Lord to search you and show you what needs to be repented of or what to let go of so that when He does come we are not found as a child "in trouble," so to speak. " But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

(Matthew 19:14)

He loves us just as we love our children, He disciplines us out of that same love and He wants us to be ready just as we would for our own child. He wants our faith to be the same towards Him just as our children's faith is towards us to protect and help them. Look at yourself starting today as a true little child of God because that is exactly how He is looking at you!

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for Your deep love You give me as Your little child. Thank you for guiding me by the hand just as any parent would in their adolescent years. I know that never ends and that even as I am old You will be there. Help me to focus more on You everyday. I want our personal relationship to grow from faith to faith. I need to understand if there is anything in my life I need to rid myself of to be holy for You. I pray for strength in these days ahead, patience in waiting and knowledge in who I am in You. I want to stand watching and waiting for You Jesus, for I know it could be any day You come back. I do not want to be ashamed when that does happen. Use me Father in Your divine will on my life. Show the Glory of Your Son through me each day to those around me. May the praise always be given to You and You alone. I am honored to be Yours. My love for You is stronger each day. Fill me Holy Spirit. Lead me. In the Name of my Lord and Savior of this world, Jesus Christ. Amen.