Blankies and Night Lights
Blankies and Night Lights
January 13, 2016 – Pastor Vince
The Lord spoke to me recently through what some may consider an unorthodox situation for divine revelation. Lucy is my 5 year old blonde haired, blue eyed, little beauty queen. She looks very much like her mother, which is evidence of God’s benevolent grace. During our nightly routine of prayers, hugs and kisses before bed, Lucy’s prayer caught my attention.
Her night light had burnt out the night before and I hadn’t had the chance to get a new bulb yet. During her prayer she said “Thank you Jesus that I won’t be scared without my night light”. This prayer was spoken while clutching her pink blankie that she has had since she was an infant. We finished tucking her and Max into bed and and I was thinking about how it is interesting that kids find security in sort of silly things. The blankie doesn’t really provide any protection and, as I’ve explained to Lucy many times, there is nothing in her room to be afraid of when her night light is off, that isn’t there when it is on.
As I was walking out of the room pondering these things I heard the Lord say to me “Adults have blankies and night lights too”. The first mental image I had of a full grown man holding a little blankie while he was tucked in by the glow of his night light was humorous, but I assumed that Jesus wasn’t just trying to give me a chuckle with this statement. So I went in my room and sat quietly for a bit and His point quickly became more clear.
It is illogical and a bit silly that kids find security in blankies and night lights, but no more so than what adults often find their security in. For many it is their job, their investments, their relationships, or a whole host of other “things” that provide, at best, a perception of safety or stability. The problem with putting our trust in, or drawing our security from, anything other than the sovereignty, perfection, and faithfulness of our Father God is that things change. Folks lose jobs all the time. Contrary to conventional advice, investments can evaporate like the morning dew. Relationships, whether romantic, familial, or otherwise, involve people, and if you don’t understand why that creates the potential for instability, then you haven’t met any people. These are just a few of the pitiful counterfeits that we as humans, happily, and gullibly, place our trust and faith in.
We are invited by the God who created the universe and presides over it with complete control, to place our trust and find our security in someone instead of something. That someone is Jesus Christ our Savior King. He is the second person of The Holy Trinity that proves through His perfect life, substitutionary death, and triumphant resurrection, that God is a God of love, and grace, and mercy. We are invited to receive, by faith, the Good News of His Gospel and become beneficiaries of His unmatched benevolence. John chapter 1 verse 12 says that those who believe the good news about Jesus become the “children of God”.
Once someone receives this incredible gift of sovereign adoption through faith, they are brought into relationship with Father God. The beautiful nature of His love for us begins to change our desires, and as our love for Him grows, so does our desire to obey His commands. Part of the reason for this is that we begin to realize every one of His prohibitions are for our protection, and His commands are because He cares for us.
So how does this help us to be rid of our adult versions of blankies and night lights? The most prevalent command in the scriptures from God to His people is that we “fear not” or “do not fear”. This command is more often than not tied to one of two promises “For I Am God” or “For I Am With You”.
We are invited by the God who spoke and created everything, to live lives completely devoid of fear and insecurity. He makes this invitation knowing that to many it would seem impossible, and so He puts His very name and character on the line as assurance. You see “For I am God” invites us to contemplate His unparalleled power, His unmatched majesty, and His lavish love for us. He wants us to be free of fear simply because of who He is!
Amazingly, and as if the immutable perfection of His very character was not enough, He promises His presence with us as well. Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
If the God of the Bible is truly the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent creator of all that exists. If He has indeed revealed His perfect love for us through the finished work of Jesus Christ. If He has invited us by faith to be protected and provided for as His children because of His gracious mercy upon us, then can we endeavor by the help of His Spirit to obey His command to live without fear? Can we take our night lights and our blankies, the things which we think provide what we need, but are unable to deliver in the end, and lay them down at the feet of the one who can actually come through for us? My prayer is that joyfully we will, for our good and His glory, Amen.