The Sweetness of Being a Child of God: Sunday Devotion

Hosea 11:4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them.

Being a member of the oldest generation of my family and the family matriarch or patriarch can mean that everyone depends on you to be wise and always available. But, even with gray hair, we feel the need to be babied sometimes, to being held in the hands of our Father.

We are always children in His eyes, in need of having our spirits and souls fed by God’s words. Jesus, as he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, reminded us in Matthew 4:4 that we don’t live only by the foods we eat, but also through every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord, something He learned from reading Deuteronomy 8:3.

To be held by the cords of human kindness, cords that cannot and will not break, we are secure in the love of God for His children. To think that He lifts us to his cheek and lavishes us with affection, peace, mercy, and grace makes these difficult times easier to waether with patient endurance.

So though my age may be showing, there is a peace in knowing the sweetness of being a child of God, someone loved and adored, the very apple of God’s eye. Psalm 17: 8 states, “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”

Second Corinthians 4:16 asserts, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” Today, let us rest in the comfort of His love, mimicking little children who place such simple trust and faith in their parents, so that regardless of what is happening in the world, we can know that we are safe and secure in His love. Hold on to your Father’s unchanging hands!