Awake and Alive: A 5-Day Plan to Revive Your Faith Sample

Tether Yourself to God

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith— that you, being rooted andgrounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14 - 19

During the past two decades, I have traveled enough to get significant status on my preferred airline. That means I have been delayed, canceled, and spent more of my life than I’d like to admit in an airport terminal. One of my favorite things to do in an airport is people-watch. It doesn’t take long to spot the differences between the business travelers who’ve been on the road longer than they’d like and the newbies who are trying to navigate through the herd of people. I have also watched the tearstained faces of those who are traveling toward some destination that isn’t a beach vacation. I’ve even watched seemingly normal people completely lose their minds with airline employees because something didn’t go the way they expected.

If you keep your eyes open in an airport, you’re also going to see some amazing things. You’ll start seeing infants, toddlers, and children. (I won’t lie; they’re much cuter in the terminal than when they’re seated right behind you on the plane at full volume.)

Invariably, you’re going to see a parent walking through the terminal with an infant strapped to their chest. You’ve seen these baby carriers, right? When they’re walking toward you, you’ll see a little head below the parent’s head. And if the baby is old enough, maybe six to nine months, they’re facing forward. So there will also be four floppy limbs bouncing happily along as the mom or dad walks the three miles to Terminal Gate E38. The parents might be exhausted, but the baby? The baby is golden. She needs nothing because she’s tethered to her parent. I guarantee you that anything that little one could possibly need is in the diaper bag on the mom or dad’s shoulder. That baby feels completely secure.

On more than one occasion, that picture has reminded me of my relationship with God. It’s hard for me to imagine myself as an infant tethered to his father’s body, but it’s true, and it’s what we were made for. Did you know that that’s what God’s after? Did you know that that’s available to you as a son or a daughter of God?

Too often, we get it wrong, especially when we’ve been churchy for a long time. If we grew up in the church, or if we’ve been around it for a while, we can act as if our faith is about an ever- increasing knowledge of God. Or it’s about maintaining a standard of behavior that we can’t possibly maintain. No, that’s not what we’re made for. We were made to have security, provision, and intimacy with God.

And our faith is rooted in an understanding of God’s love that keeps us tethered to Him.

That’s not to say we won’t try to do all the things, know all the things, and be all the things. Yet when we try to get God to validate our list of the things we think we should do, He says, No, just be with Me. Be with Me.

It’s a little mind- bending, isn’t it?

In this world where we’re measured by our test scores and sales numbers, it’s slightly disorienting. It’s a little confusing. We’re not quite sure what to do with the caregiver who loves us and isn’t hustling us to get out the door in the morning. Or nagging us to pick up our rooms. Or to walk the dog. Or to do the dishes. We’re not used to the one who loves us inviting us to just be. To just be with Him.

And to be fair, most of us didn’t have moms or dads like that. After all, they had stuff to do! If anyone tells me they had perfect parents, I know they’re wrong. They might want to believe that, but the reality is none of us was raised by perfect humans because perfect humans simply do not exist. Case closed. None of us has experienced perfect love in our childhood home, dorm room, or home we live in today. We just haven’t. And we’re so broken that when we finally taste the real thing, it feels disingenuous.

No, we protest. It can’t be true.

We’re the prodigal son coming home after living it up in the streets, and the Father spots us at a distance and runs to our side. And He is elated that we’re there.

It’s as if He’s saying, “You’re home!” And inviting us even closer, saying, “Root yourself in My love. I’m right here. I’m so committed. I’m committed to you with My broken body and blood. I’m here for you. I want you. I want you for the long haul.”

If the prodigal son’s dad could scoop up his twenty-something kid and tether him to his middle-aged chest, he would. And that’s a picture of how our heavenly Father straps us close and provides everything we need. He tethers the grieving daughter close to His heart. He’ll even bind the outraged passenger who needs to be soothed.

You were made to be planted and rooted and tethered and grounded in the steadfast love of a Father who does not fail.

Reflect

1. Imagine you’re that kid at the airport with a parent. Are you running circles through the terminal? Are you crouched someplace, hiding? Are you bundled against the body of a parent who is safe, trustworthy, and kind? Where are you?

2. Spend time imagining your heavenly Parent whose deep desire is to welcome you near and hold you close. Do you believe it? Do you welcome it? Or do you have some reservations?

Challenge

My prayer for you as you embrace today’s challenge is the same as Paul’s prayer for the early believers in Ephesus: “That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (3:17–19). I want you to know in your deepest places the wide, long, high, deep love of Christ. Today, I encourage you to quiet your heart in prayer and see yourself tethered to the Father who loves you. Ask Him, “Show me how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is for me.” Then wait. Be patient. Let the Spirit speak to your heart. Repeat as needed.