Psalm 139:5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me.
Have you ever been in a situation of waiting where it was hard to trust in God for the end result? Rhetorical question, right? We’ve all been there.
I’ve personally been in one of those seasons of waiting for the last 6-8 months, as my wife and I have been praying daily for the salvation of one of our children.
Of our four kids, the two oldest have made a personal decision to accept Christ as Savior. Our youngest two have yet to make that decision, and a great personal struggle of trust that I’ve had to face recently is waiting on the Lord for the salvation of our 7-year-old, Seth.
What’s very obvious is that he has a proper understanding of the Gospel, and he even knows that he isn’t saved and needs to be. But we’re praying and waiting for an evident conviction in his heart so that his decision to trust Christ will be his own and not mom and dad’s.
In fact, we’ve been doing a lot more of our evening family devotions with a strong salvation emphasis with that end in mind. Our oldest two children have also expressed their concern by saying that they pray for their little brother often knowing that he needs to be saved.
Now, if it were up to me, I would let the little guy get saved today, as I could easily lead him in the sinner’s prayer. But it’s not up to me, nor is it simply ‘a prayer’ that will save him. I have to patiently wait for God’s timing and God’s will, not my own. Because more than I want for him to have just a profession of faith, I desire for him to have a life-long assurance of his salvation.
And sometimes I even wonder why God isn’t speaking to his little heart like I think He should be.
- Why doesn’t he seem more convicted about his sin?
- What if Jesus comes back before he decides?
- What can I be doing better as a parent to prepare his heart?
While these questions may not have answers right now, and I struggle to know what tomorrow holds, one thing I’m certain of is this – God is already in my tomorrow. He has “beset me behind and before”, as David put it in Psalm 139:5.
While I may worry about what tomorrow holds, I know Who holds tomorrow, and I can find peace and rest in that. As a father, I know how much I love my son, and I can rest in knowing that my Heavenly Father loves him even more than I do, and has only what is best in store. That’s something I can put my trust in.
What struggle of faith are you dealing with in your family right now?
- An unsaved son or daughter?
- A disobedient child who just doesn’t seem to “get it”?
- A family conflict that seems to have no resolution?
- A wayward son or daughter?
- An unanswered prayer?
Whatever faith-stretching situation your facing in your life or family today, just remember that God knows and God cares. David said in the next verse, verse 6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.”
There are some things in the future that for now, God only is supposed to know, and I only am supposed to trust.
Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
God’s timing is not usually our own, but one thing is for sure, no matter what it is we’re waiting on for God to do in our lives, He already sees, and He already knows… because He’s already there, in our tomorrow!
- I wrote this article over a month ago and had already scheduled it to be posted on this day. However, this past week at our church’s VBS, our 7-year-old, Seth, trusted in Jesus as his Savior on the last night of VBS! As he put it in his own words, “I’ve been thinking about it every day, Dad. I need to get saved.” I personally find it very encouraging that even as I was writing down these thoughts over a month ago, God was already in my tomorrow. He saw… He knew… because He was already there.
