Psalm 51:17, "A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."
Today my son and I had a war of the wills.
I had to stand my ground; if I failed, we would both lose. It was not about the task at hand; it was about his soul.
When Timothy was in the hospital, it saddened me to see the loss of fight that slowly enveloped his being. While there, he learned that he was helpless to defend himself against anything that was planned or perpetrated against him.
But now that he is home and recovered, something new, deep, strong, and even more grievous has taken root in his little heart: resistance. Somehow he remembers all that he was unable to prevent and is determined not to let it happen again.
His error is that he cannot discern between wise and foolish oppositon. He sees me as the enemy when in fact I am his benefactor. He does not want to hurt now; I do not want him to hurt later. I love him far too much to let any root of rebellion take hold of his spirit.
Today all I wanted to do was forget about the command he refused to obey, scoop him up in my arms, and wipe away his tears. But this would have rewarded his unwise defiance and sowed the beginnings of apostasy. No, I drew the battle lines and won. Toward the end I shed my own tears. But what a sweetness of fellowship we had the moment he chose to submit to my loving authority.
Timothy, there will be a time when you do need to rebel. May it be against those who malign your God. But never make the choice to turn against Him. Your resistance will only create distance. He is much more patient than I; He will wait as long as it takes for your spirit to be broken.
2 Timothy 2:13, "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself."
