Wednesday: I WANT TO BE CLOSER TO YOU

Apr 26, 2023
2 min read

1 Thessalonians 2:7-12

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

A nursing child cannot care for itself; his mother must do everything for him. When we love someone so much, we care for them in the same way.

The greatest care we can give is sharing the gospel of God and our lives as well. We work in toil and hardship in order not to be a burden while we preach the gospel.

I am a witness of the holy, righteous and blameless people that God has surrounded me with. They have dealt with me as a father deals with his own children: encouraging, comforting and urging me to live a life worthy of God, who calls me into His kingdom and glory.

THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS

God has provided both a mother and a father in the form of people He has surrounded me with. He has provided a mother to care for my needs and a father to encourage me to live a life worthy of Him.

But wait! Do these people really exist, or is it just my imagination? I find that God also cares for me like a nursing mother, and the care that other people show comes from Him.

God also encourages me like a comforting father, for He desires that I would be conformed to the image of His Son.

I don’t know what God has for me next, but I know it comes from Him. If I focus on Him, then I won’t be distracted by fear and anxious thoughts; I will only fear and respect Him. I won’t be surrounded by hopelessness, as I will place my hope in Him. I won’t succumb to revenge and anger, but will allow Him to wash all that away.

Lord, thank You for the blessings that You have given me today. Thank You for Your care and encouragement that leads me closer and closer to You. Amen.

May you be blessed,

Chaplain Wayne Ruckman