This is a story for when you’re trying to avoid distractions at all costs, and God whispers, Don’t you remember? The kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.

I Was Determined to Stay Focused

I was in no mood to be led by the Spirit.  I was trying to study, to write, to be productive! I had no time for the little boy playing underfoot, beneath the desk I could not leave (because I had to be productive)!  I had to make things happen!

Isn’t It Ironic?

Then he found “his song” on the “high pad” (or, as you might know it, the iPad). The song No Longer Slaves started playing through the speakers.  He began to sing in his little voice, “I’m no longer a slave to fear,” and then bellowed in a beautiful, booming crescendo, “I am a child of God!” It was all just a little bit too ironic. There I was, tied to the desk, trying to do my part to change the world for God. But it wasn’t faith in my Father that tied me to that desk. It was fear that if I eased up for one second, the world would fall to pieces.

Sometimes All It Takes Is a Song

That was all it took.  I was completely undone. The innocence of the Grand Baby Boy singing beneath the desk dropped me to my knees, and under the desk I went. I scooped up the child and nestled him into my lap. Over and over we sang at the top of our lungs, “I’m no longer a slave to fear—I am a child of God.”

In that one grand, glorious, distraction-filled moment, all the fear bound deep in my heart came crashing down, as joy rose up through the sing-song voice of the little boy cradled in my arms. And here’s what I’m praying: that in the middle of our fears, our worries, and stresses, God will grant us beneath-the-desk moments where joy rises up and breaks the grip of fear.

Good Distractions, Meaningful Moments, No Longer A Slave, Child of God, Joy over Fear