Two Fathers, Two Feasts – Upwords Devotional

Two Fathers, Two Feasts
by Max Lucado

The following is an excerpt from In the Eye of the Storm.
Download Chapter 12 of In the Eye of the Storm to read even more.

Two Fathers, Two Feasts Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father (Col. 1:11-12). A Thanksgiving car trip with kids will teach you a lot about God.

I drove the family to Grandma’s last night for Thanksgiving. Three hours into the six-hour trip, I realized that I was in a theology lab.

A day with a car full of kids will teach you a lot about God. Transporting a family from one city to another is closely akin to God transporting us from our home to his.

A journey is a journey, whether the destination be the Thanksgiving table or the heavenly one. The fact that my pilgrims were all under the age of seven only enriched my learning experience.

As minutes rolled into hours and our car rolled through the hills, I began to realize that what I was saying to my kids had a familiar ring. I had heard it before — from God. All of a sudden, the car became a classroom. I realized that I was doing for a few hours what God has done for centuries: encouraging travelers who’d rather rest than ride.

I shared the idea with Denalyn. We began to discover similarities between the two journeys. Here are a few we noted.

In order to reach the destination, we have to say no to some requests.

In the Eye of the StormChildren have no concept of minutes or miles.

Children can’t envision the reward.

It’s worth it.

As we sat around the table today, no one spoke of the long trip to get here. Yesterday’s challenges were lost in today’s joy.

That’s what Paul meant. God never said that the journey would be easy, but he did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.

Remember this: God may not do what you want, but he will do what is right … and best. He’s the Father of forward motion. Trust him. He will get you home. And the trials of the trip will be lost in the joys of the feast.