Have you ever watched someone you love make life decisions that hurt to watch, & you can’t do anything about it? You see them making choices & chasing things you know aren’t good for them… & see them suffer for it… but it’s out of your hands? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could swoop in & save our loved ones from themselves sometimes? (I’m sure others have thought the same about me, too!)

I wonder if that’s how God feels when He sees us chasing sin. I don’t think He’s shaking His head saying, “Get it together Susie” (lol)… No, I see Him more like a doting Father, agonizing over our wrong choices. I think when we walk away from His path, His heart is broken for us & what we’re missing out on… because He has so much better for us, but we forfeit His best in pursuit of our ideas, methods & solutions.

We may even begin believing that He’s holding out on us, the Giver of Good Gifts, our heavenly Father!

Eat, child!

Our precious 2-year old girl has become rather persnickety about food in recent months. Every day we make her amazing meals, but 9 times out of 10, she snubs our cooking for little things like apples or bananas (mind you, she wants to eat these an hour or two later, after food is cold, eaten or put away)!

I want to exclaim, “But you’re missing out on amazing, homemade meals! Shrimp & grits! Steak & potatoes! Chicken & rice! They’re 10x better than fruit could ever be ~ & much harder to come by. Eat, child!” 🙂

But she wants none of it. Her heart is set on doing what she wants, so she misses out on SO MANY good meals. It frustrates me but also makes me laugh daily, reminding me that I can’t control my child — I can only steer her towards the right choices (& model them) & pray she makes good ones.

When we’re being like this, I imagine God whispers to us, too, saying ~ If you’d just turn to Me for your needs instead of the world’s answers! You’ll never get to experience all the goodness I have for you & all My gifts if you don’t trust Me to satisfy you & fulfill your deepest desires. 

It also reminds me of the Israelites in this passage:

And these verses, Jesus’ heartbreak over His beloved Jerusalem!

“When He came near, He beheld the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had known even today what things would bring you peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.'” 

~Luke 19

If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace.

What you chase will never satisfy

I’ve dreamt of loved ones, suffering from other people’s choices (& a few of their own), who walked away from God’s best for them.

In these dreams God was offering them something better, but He warned that a counterfeit existed — the enemy’s “solution” to their problems that looked SO GOOD at the time. It was the easier path to take, the path of least resistance. So they chose that way, & lost out on immense blessings because of it 🙁

How hard it was to watch them walk away from the very thing they needed most! It’s the same pain we feel when we see people we love choose poorly — & suffer for years, or their entire lives, for it. Our hearts cry out for them to see that there’s a better way!!

A prodigal prayer

Today I just wanna pray (& encourage you to pray with me) for people we love making decisions that are subpar at best… for those things beyond our control. These are the places & people’s lives we want to invite God into because truly only He can change people, not us. Prayer reminds us of how little power we have, but how big our Father is!

Think of those you love — not with judgment, but truly with the heart of the Father, in love & brokenness over their choices — & ask the Lord to open their eyes to His better life for them!

Lord, we love You & know You want to give GOOD GIFTS to us! But we can walk away from You & chase worldly things that never satisfy. Only You can meet our deepest needs — no person/relationship, amount of success, business, ministry, passion, or amount of man’s approval can meet the love we need from You, our Father!

Give us Your heart for these people, ________ and _________. We pray Father that You would intervene in their lives before it’s too late, that You would open their eyes & hearts to Your truth & Your goodness. We pray You would unmask the enemy of their souls & show him for who he is: a liar, a deceiver, who always does a “bait & switch” with us to convince us his methods & ‘gifts’ are good but doesn’t show us the hook behind them.

Your Word says the enemy is a lion prowling around seeking whom he may devour, a thief who wants to steal & kill & destroy all that is good, pure, TRUE, & right in our lives. He even wants to misuse our God-given gifts for his glory, not Yours. He wants us chasing vanities instead of You, Lord. He’s convinced all of us of some very big lies, but Lord Your plan & purposes will prevail. Thank You that You never let go of us & are SO merciful, even when we’ve spent YEARS chasing fantasies & idols & our sin! Thank You that You even heal us of the consequences of our sins & that You forgive us & wipe us clean. It’s truly remarkable.

I come before you on behalf of ______ & ask You to prick their heart to turn from their wicked ways, to stop chasing what is false & see the truth hiding in plain sight — what the enemy has been blinding their eyes to this whole time! I thank You for shedding light on the darkness & meeting their heart’s deepest needs & desires. Thank You Lord that Your desire is to SATISFY every living thing & give us our food at the proper time!! You don’t want to withhold from us, even when the enemy tries to convince us that You’ll “never come through for us”. Thank You for giving us YOU. Thank You for loving Your people & the people of this world, for being broken over our sin because of how far away it leads us from Your arms. Thank You that You love every prodigal & addict & immoral person & that You paid the price for their life & their freedom in You. You don’t give up on us, even when we’ve broken every promise & conned people & lied & cheated & been reckless with others’ hearts.

Save these people & bring them back to You, Lord. Soften their hearts & their minds to choose YOU & Your path — the pathway to life! For only Your truth will set us free. Thank You… in Jesus’ name, amen.

“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” ~Romans 8

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.'” ~Mark 10