Ephesians 6:10- Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
One of the things I love about being a father to a five-year-old is knowing that no matter how painfully aware I may be of my own limitations and failing physical prowess, in the eyes of my son, there is nothing stronger than his daddy. Just the other day, after having watched Disney’s The Incredibles he asked me if I could lift a car like Mr. Incredible. “Wow,” I thought, “this little guy actually thinks that I could lift a car like Mr. Incredible if I really wanted to.” Even though he’s never seen me lift one, and there’s never been an occasion to necessitate needing to lift one, in his mind that was something that was truly within the realm of possibility for me. I guess this is the case, because there have been so many times when he wants to do something, or get somewhere in his own strength, but can’t, so he simply calls on daddy, and daddy can do it every time. Everything that he has ever needed moved, pulled, transported, and otherwise hoisted to various places, including himself, has been done with relative ease by his “superhero” dad.
As I think about the simple trust and faith that my son has in me, this verse in Ephesians makes me think of just how capable God is in doing those things that I could never do on my own. There are those obstacles in my life that in my own strength I cannot move. There are those barriers to where I want to go in life that I cannot surmount. There are circumstances that seem to hold me in a full nelson, but yet in spite of them all, I have a Daddy that is greater and more powerful than them all. It’s nice to know that on those days when all our weaknesses are all too obvious we have a Heavenly Father upon whom we can depend to “lift a car” if we need Him to.
-Chaplain Andy