One of the most challenging areas for me as a parent is not doing too much for my kids. You may ask, “What do you mean?” Allow me to explain. I simply and abundantly dislike messes. When you give your kids tasks to learn responsibility and life skills, they make mistakes, and this is how we learn, but mistakes are messy.
Life itself can be at times chaotic and messy, giving us all adequate opportunity to learn, but if we don’t learn, we become complacent, complaining, and at times even demanding individuals. I realized that, in my attempt to avoid messes, I was doing a disservice to my children and taking away opportunities to learn and take responsibility for completing different tasks.
The other night, after dinner (and not to embarrass my son), I asked my two children to do the dishes: load the dishwasher, put in a dish soap pod, shut it, and run it. I had shown them before how to load it to ensure a good wash so that the dishes would come out clean. Simple enough, right? You’d think so, except I guess I failed show them where the dish soap pod was, and as I was in the living room, my son says, “Dad, the pod is too big, it won’t fit into the holder.” I said, “Yes, it will just place it in and shut the little door and run it!” The next morning, I went to unload the dishwasher, and I noticed a very strong detergent smell…my son didn’t look under the sink for the dish soap pod but rather walked into the laundry room nearby and grabbed a laundry soap pod, which is larger for sure, and placed that in the dishwasher. What? Why, how? You can’t make this stuff up!
Isaiah 40:2 says, “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.…” “Speak to the heart, comfort!” Remember, comfort awakens the heart to the reality that the struggle is over and that God has come alongside you on the journey! The debt has been satisfied, and justice has been fulfilled. Don’t get mixed up what God has accomplished in Christ and what we are called to do.
When we say, “God is in control!” I don’t hear what is probably intended: that God is sovereign and all-knowing. Instead, I hear a statement that encourages complacent, casual Christianity that complains about what God is doing and demands that He fix the struggle and give me what I want! The truth is God is sovereign, but He is sovereign in His word. And the Word declares that He is not fixing what He has already finished. In Christ, according to 1 Corinthians 1:30, “But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
I think of it like this. My son is on the couch yelling, “Dad, get me something to eat and drink, now!”
I would respond to him, “I have provided electricity, a fridge, food and drinks in the fridge, and I have provided cups, plates, cookware, and utensils to cook (With guided supervision, of course).” “Get up and get it yourself.” To some, this sounds harsh, but again, this is where life is lived in abundance and to the full. Yes, this is where messes are made, mistakes even, but it’s also where God, by the Holy Spirit, leads, guides, and directs us in truth to accomplish God’s will and plan for our lives and to build the kingdom of God as we act on what He has already accomplished.
God is not doing everything for you – God is standing with you in everything! There is a difference. Not just to watch or pat you on the back when life gets hard, but to remind you of His word and what has already been finished in Christ, so we can take advantage of it and live victoriously.
The idea is that God works in partnership with us. He has redeemed, qualified, empowered, blessed, and sent us in full supply. You and I are called to action! We enforce, demonstrate, duplicate, and illustrate Christ to the world in which God has called us to and given us influence over, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2026 is not a year to be distracted by the opposition and hardships of the enemy in life, as God has already defeated the enemy and deprived him of the ability to harm you. As He is in this world, so are we. God is fixing our alignment, our affection, and attention to what really matters, and calling His people to the responsibility of the kingdom.
God’s heart is not frustration – it’s one of invitation. The Father is drawing the church back to its first love, first priority, and first passion. This is why making His presence a priority, not just a luxury, is so important: presence solidifies purpose, and known purpose creates passion.
God is saying, “I did it!” I have said YES to every promise to ensure success in life and enable you to live a life of overcoming. Not saying that life won’t get messy as we take steps of faith and live out our assignments, but even when we make mistakes, God will walk alongside us to cause our mistakes to prosper, fulfill His word, and accomplish the mission. Comfort is about responsibility! It’s about becoming aware of what God has done for you, taking ownership, and bringing change to your world.