Permission, the saving grace

My school age son came home from school one day, troubled. Some of his classmates wanted him to do something, and he didn't want to. Saying no was hard and he was struggling. I looked straight at him and stated in a definite tone of voice, "I don't give you permission." Then I explained he could tell his classmates that his mom wouldn't let him. It was my doing, my fault, and he couldn't change that. His relief showed on his face; I had given him a legitimate "out," and he didn't need to fight anymore.

Children need to make their own decisions and stand for what they know is right. My son knew he was right, but the pressure from the outside was weighing him down. So I lightened his burden by withholding permission. It gave him support for what he wanted and an acceptable reason to stick to it. I forbade him, and he relaxed, knowing he was safe.

We are also safe, safe in the arms of the Lord. He is our refuge, our security, and our fortress. We can run to His shelter, knowing that He can withstand any pressure, any storm, and any siege laid against us. His protection is powerful and cannot be overcome. Utterly reliable and completely committed, Jesus provides us with every safeguard, if only we will take hold of Him and trust.

My previous house possessed a stone wall that separated the property from the creek behind it. When a large tree on the property next door uprooted and crashed onto this wall, eight feet of it was demolished. The property owner never developed the land, and didn't know there was risk of a tree uprooting itself.

Things fall apart, break down, and lose coherence. The falling tree, afflicted by this entropy, started a chain of breakdowns. The wall was damaged severely, and the ability of the wall to hold together compromised. The creek had worn away at this wall for decades, and gaps between the ground and the wall were apparent. The creek didn't have to make gradual inroads any longer. It now could flood the yard easily. All it needed was an opening.

Have you been uprooted and lost your grip on something you'd depended on? Perhaps an illness, or a lost job, or a sudden emergency brought a sense of not being stable in your life. It's nerve-wracking to be unstable, to wait for something to happen or to react when something occurs. The feeling of wrongness pervades you, and you search for an anchor---any anchor.

You don't want any anchor at these times. You need Jesus---Jesus doesn't crumble, doesn't fail, doesn't erode, and doesn't vanish. He exists, and He exists for you. The bible records God as saying, " I will never leave nor forsake you." He wants you to come forward and grab hold of Him. Whether life is filled with collapses and crashes or slower erosions, He is there to hold you fast through everything. Just grab hold and He will pull you to safety.