Learn to Receive What You Really Need from God

When our son Daniel was young, we used to have difficulty getting him to do his chores. I remember feeling so irritated with him at times because he had such a fun-loving personality but he couldn’t seem to focus on getting things done that he needed to do, like clean his room. So Dave and I decided to create a chart that listed his responsibilities to help him be mindful of them and get them done when he was supposed to. We would put check marks by the completed chores.

Now around this time, Daniel would sometimes have trouble with the neighborhood bully. Every now and then he would pick on Daniel and take his ball or something like that. When he did, Daniel would run home and we’d hear him coming, yelling for Dave to help him.

I remember one day how God spoke to me through this situation about His unconditional love for me. He showed me this: When Daniel comes running, crying for Dave, his father, to help him, Dave doesn’t stop and say, “Joyce, go check and see if Daniel has finished all of his chores. If he has, then I’ll help him. If he hasn’t, then he’s on his own!” No! Dave didn’t have to think about it at all – he just went running to help him as fast as he could.

Here’s the message: When I make mistakes, God doesn’t want me to give Him sacrifices to earn His mercy and help. He wants to give me mercy no matter how I’ve behaved. He will deal with me about my weaknesses and the things I do wrong because He wants to help me learn and grow from them, but He still wants to help me when I’m in trouble. Just like Dave was there to help Daniel, whether he did his chores or not, God wants to be there for us.