He Just Wants Us to Come to Him

I rushed around the corner of the school building to the nurse’s office where my son sat cradling a broken left arm. The nurse told me he’d attempted a trick on the monkey bars during morning recess, and as is the case with many adventurous little boys, he’d fallen hard onto the unforgiving ground underneath.

I could see as I approached the room that he was trying to be brave. He was trying to hold it all together and be strong, yet his eyes were full of pain. But as I entered and our eyes met, all that effort instantly melted away. He burst into tears. He knew his comforter had come. He didn’t have to hold it all together any more. He could show his pain—raw and real—because I was there now. I would hold him. I would take care of him. I would help him through.

As I think back on that morning, I wonder what it would mean for us if we could see God in that same way. As our Abba Father. Our Comforter. Our “very present help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1). How would our relationship with God grow if we really believed He doesn’t expect us to hold it all together all the time? How would our perception of Him change if we really knew how great His love is? If we really understood He doesn’t expect us to be strong when we’re hurting or brave when we’re broken?

He just wants us to come to Him.

If you’re struggling today, if you’ve found the ground underneath your feet unforgiving and hard, God wants to be there for you. You don’t have figure it all out on your own. Let God in. He doesn’t accuse. He doesn’t condemn. You can be raw and real knowing His arms never break. Instead they tenderly hold, fiercely protect, and unconditionally love.