One of Moody’s greatest delights was his children and grandchildren. He loved being a father, and this experience grew his own understanding of the heavenly Father.
One of the anecdotes Moody shared is this story regarding his daughter Emma-
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I remember one time my little girl was teasing her mother to get her a muff, and so one day her mother brought a muff home, and, although it was storming, she very naturally wanted to go out in order to try her new muff. So she tried to get me to go but with her.
I went out with her, and I said, “Emma, better let me take your hand.” She wanted to keep her hands in her muff, and so she refused to take my hand. Well, by and by she came to an icy place, her little feet slipped, and down she went. When I helped her up she said, “Papa, you may give me your little finger.”
“No, my daughter, just take my hand.”
“No, no, papa, give me your little finger.”
Well, I gave my finger to her, and for a little way she got along nicely, but pretty soon we came to another icy place, and again she fell. This time she hurt herself a little, and she said, “Papa, give me your hand,” and I gave her my hand, and closed my fingers about her wrist, and held her up so that she could not fall. Just so God is our keeper. He is wiser than we.
God our Keeper
This lovely illustration captures some of the D.L. Moody spirit. While we often may think of the huge revival meetings he led and the grand music, Moody’s heart was for people to know their great Heavenly Father who so tenderly wanted to draw them near.
I know many who struggle with the idea of God as Father. Their own parents have greatly wronged them, and God as Father does not strike a trustworthy image. However, that is the beauty of our broken human lives- God was sent to redeem what the world has broken, and part of that starts with Him as a good Father. He is there to heal the pain and fill the voids of what was lost.
One of the ultimate blessings of God as Father is that He is wiser. Our earthly perspective limits us, and we often get stuck on the “Why would God do this?” Yet there is peace in that God is wiser than us and works in ways we do not understand. A God who shares our IQ would not be much of God. Let us turn our questions from “Why, God?” to “What are You doing?” and seek to draw near to Him, even in the storms.