In My Father's Arms

Written by Timothy D. Blackburn

When I was a child, I often fell asleep in the car on the way home from church. That big red seat in the back of our white 1959 Chevrolet made a perfect bed for a tired little boy. We lived many miles from the church my dad served as pastor, and a nap after an evening worship service was inevitable.   

My dad always carried me to my bed. Sometimes I awoke just enough to feel him gently pick me up and carry me to my room. Occasionally I was actually awake but pretended to be asleep. Other times I didn't awake until the next morning, discovering I had been placed in my bed without remembering it.   

Dad was careful not to wake me. He cradled my head in his arm to support it. What a comforting feeling that was! I felt secure and protected; there were no worries. The problems of the day didn't matter. I knew my dad was protecting me at that moment. I did not worry about school the next day—I was in my father's arms.   

Growing older doesn't take away the need for safety and comfort. As Christians, we have access to our Heavenly Father. We are in His loving arms no matter the circumstances.

In God's arms…

…we are secure. If someone had attempted to wrestle me out of my dad's arms and do me harm, he would have had a fight on his hands. No one is able to snatch us out of God’s hand (John 10:27-30). I am a man now, and my dad no longer carries me when I am asleep or hurt. This fond period of my life is over, and Dad is mortal – someday he will die. But God is everlasting. There is none like God, who rides the heavens to our help. God is our refuge, our dwelling place, and underneath are everlasting arms. We can live blessed, for we are a people saved by the Lord, and who is like us? (Deut. 33:27-29).  

…there is no need to fear. In my dad's arms, I feared nothing. The peace God gives us cannot be humanly comprehended (Phil. 4:7). God promised He would never desert or forsake us (Heb. 13:5). No matter what our situation is, we are not on our own. This takes away our fear, for if God is for us, who can be against us (Rom. 8:31)?   

…we are conquerors. In Dad's arms, no bully could harm me for long. Nothing – not even death, our past, present, or future – can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ. People or angels cannot separate us from His love. Distress, tribulation, hunger, and even nakedness will not separate us from Jesus' love. Because of this, the Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom. 8:35-39).   

…there is rescue. When I was a child, a bicycle wheel twisted my ankle as I rode on the handlebars while Dad peddled. He cradled me in his arms and took me to the hospital. God also rescues us. Even the devil cannot persist in his attack against us, because God will come to our rescue after we have suffered for a while (1 Pet. 5:9-10). The suffering we experience can seem so long, but ultimately we will be delivered. Our sufferings cannot compare to the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18). In our eternal future we will not suffer, die, sorrow, or cry; God Himself will wipe all tears from our eyes (Rev. 21:4).   

…all things work together for good. God makes bad things work together for our good. That's not to say all things that occur are good. But God loves us so much that He takes bad things and makes something good come out of them in due time (Rom. 8:28).  

…He is our strength. When I was asleep or hurt, I was weak. Just being a little boy made me weak, but my dad was my strength until I became a man. In our weakest moments our strength is supplemented by God's power (2 Cor. 12:9). We are able to do all things through Jesus who gives us strength (Phil. 4:13).   

…He hears us. "Daddy, my ankle hurts," I said after getting hurt on the bicycle. Of course Dad heard me, and he probably broke a few speed limits in that old Chevy to get to the hospital. We talk to God through prayer. In our weakness we often do not know how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings too deep for words (Rom. 8:26-27). God hears our prayers. When we ask Him for something that is in His will, He gives it to us (Matt. 21:22; 1 John 5:14-15).   

…He forgives us. Although I made mistakes as a child, my parents always forgave and loved me. When we confess our sins, God always forgives us. He cleanses us from our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). What a loving Father we have! God draws us to Christ, and when we ask for eternal life, He gives it to us because we simply believe and trust in Jesus (John 3:16; Rom. 10:13).   

I wonder what it was like to be one of the children Jesus gently took in His arms and blessed (Mark 10:16). I'm sure they felt secure and loved. Today, Jesus wants us to come to Him as a little child. His arms are open to receive us. We may be sick while in His arms. We may suffer there. But once His arms are around us, they will never open.

Timothy D. Blackburn is author of The History of the Future: A Commentary on Revelation and Matthew 24. He lives in Glen Allen, Va.

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