Cuddling In 安心依偎

[Dexu Xia]

Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:7

 “Daddy, will you read to me?” my daughter asked. It’s not an unusual question for a child to make of a parent. But my daughter is eleven now. These days, such requests are fewer than they were when she was younger. “Yes,” I said happily, and she curled up next to me on the couch.

As I read to her (from The Fellowship of the Ring), she practically melted into me. It was one of those glorious moments as a parent, when we feel perhaps just an inkling of the perfect love our Father has for us and His deep desire for us to “cuddle in” to His presence and love.

I realized in that moment that I’m a lot like my eleven-year-old. Much of the time, I’m focused on being independent. It’s so easy to lose touch with God’s love for us, a tender and protective love that Psalm 116 describes as “gracious and righteous . . . full of compassion” (v. 5). It’s a love where, like my daughter, I can curl up in God’s lap, at home in His delight for me.

Psalm 116:7 suggests that we might need to regularly remind ourselves of God’s good love, and then crawl up into His waiting arms: “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” And indeed, He has.

When was the last time you rested quietly in God’s love? What barriers, if any, might keep you from experiencing the Father’s delight for you?

Father, thank You for Your perfect love for me. Help me to remember that love and to rest in Your goodness and delight in me.

我的心哪，你要仍归安乐，因为耶和华用厚恩待你。—诗篇116篇7节

女儿拿着故事书问我：“爸爸，你可以读给我听吗？”虽然这是孩子经常向父母提出的请求，但我女儿今年已经11岁了，不会像小时候那样常常提出这样的请求。于是，我满心欢喜地回答说：“当然可以啊！”然后，她便坐在沙发上，依偎在我身旁。

当我把《魔戒现身》读给女儿听的时候，她几乎完全靠在我身上，这是身为父母感受到的一个美好时刻。或许这能让我们略略体会到天父对我们那完全的爱，并明白祂是多么渴望我们能“依偎于”祂的同在和慈爱中。

在那一刻，我察觉到自己很像我11岁的女儿，很多时候我都喜欢独立自主。这让我们很容易忘记上帝的爱，祂那温柔关切的爱。就如诗篇116篇所说：“耶和华有恩惠，有公义，……以怜悯为怀”（5节）。这种爱能让我像我女儿那样，只管依偎在上帝的膝上，让祂因我的亲近而喜悦。

诗篇116篇7节教导我们应经常提醒自己：上帝的爱是何等美好，祂在等候我们依偎在祂的怀抱里。上帝确实如此，让我们像诗人一样回应说：“我的心哪，你要仍归安乐，因为耶和华用厚恩待你。”

你最近一次安心依偎在上帝的爱中是在什么时候？
什么会拦阻你享受天父对你的爱呢？

天父，感谢祢赐我完全的爱，帮助我铭记那份爱，
并安然地享受祢的美善，以及祢对我的喜爱。