The other day, I had gone to a barbershop to get a haircut. A short time after I had sat down, a little boy and his mom had entered the shop. The little boy, who was maybe 4 years old, climbed up the barber’s chair and plopped his body into the seat. He seemed quite confident and unafraid. However, once the barber turned on the buzzer, the little boy’s composure completely changed. He became very afraid. His mom and the barber tried to console the boy, but they did a really poor job. They weren’t very encouraging, comforting or loving.
As I watched this situation unfold, I thought about what I would do if I was a father and my nervous and scared son was sitting in the chair about to have his hair cut. How would I respond? How would I treat my son?
The following came to mind. I would want my son and I to have such a strong relationship that I can get down to his level, look him in the eyes and say, “Son, I will not let anything bad happen to you. I will be right next to you the whole time. I will not leave you. It’s going to be OK.” I would love for my son, as a result of our little pep-talk, to move forward with the haircut in confidence. Sure, my son may still be afraid and nervous, but he knows his Dad is there to protect him and Dad gave his word, “everything will be ok.”
All of this stems from trust in the relationship which is built by repeated behavior over time. I would love to have developed a trust with my son to where he takes me for my word, because my son knows I am for his well being. It is this trust that will allow my son to move forward when his senses tell him danger, because my voice, my presence and our relationship communicates peace.
As I thought about this further, it hit me, this is exactly how the Lord wants us to relate to him. He’s our heavenly Father and he longs to show us his faithfulness, his goodness and his love over time, so that we build trust with him. Therefore, the next time we come to a situation that’s scary, uncomfortable or uncertain we can be confident that in the same way a father would be next to his son during a haircut, the Lord is right next to us. He holds our hand and he will not put us in situations we can’t conquer. His presence, his character and his heart are what bring us peace. Even when our senses are telling us danger, it’s important we trust in the Lord and not our own understanding.
I want to encourage you to ask the Lord to show you his faithfulness, goodness and love. When you see his unwavering character, displayed over time, your confidence and trust in Him will grow. Then those once, scary “haircut” moments will be times when you sense the Lord’s presence even more.
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