The cry of a loving heart goes up for the safety of a child and the harmony of a home, and that cry has reached the ear of the Lord of Hosts. He who watches over the sparrow’s fall does not turn away from a mother’s or father’s plea. Yet let us press this petition beyond the mere natural longing, for the truest safety is found under the covert of the Almighty’s wings, and the deepest harmony is the fruit of souls reconciled to their God.
The voice of divine mercy calls, “Return, return,” and this is first for the one who prays, that your own heart may nestle without wavering into the rest which the Lord provides. You see the outward peril and the household strife, but the root of our disquiet grows in that soil where we have strayed from our rest in Him. To the soul that feels the cold, dark waters rising, as the weary dove found no place for the sole of her foot, so there is no true landing-place for our affections in this world of sin and sorrow. Yet even as Noah reached out his hand and pulled the exhausted bird into the ark, so the Lord Jesus stretches out His pierced hand to gather you and yours into the secure chambers of His love. Cry out with the Psalmist, "Return unto thy rest, O my soul," and believe that He who has dealt bountifully with you will not now abandon your little one to destruction. The Captain of our salvation has forearranged every hour, every mile, every circumstance, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against those whom He has undertaken to bring safe into the haven of Paradise.
And for the harmony you long for, know that it cannot bloom from a thicket of unconfessed sin or worldly compromise. The old companions and the hollow voices of the age hiss, "Return to selfishness, to prudence, to the easy ways of the crowd," but the beloved’s true call rings yet louder: "Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee." When a household is turned back to the Lord their God, the bickering of armies ceases, and though they seemed "as it were the company of two armies," they become one in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let there be a turning in your own spirit first, a full, immediate, unfeigned return. Bring no cold, distant petition as if God were a jailer demanding a prisoner’s desperate plea. No, return unto your God, for He is the Father who runs to meet the prodigal while he is yet a great way off. The argument is not your merit, but your need; because you have fallen by iniquity, because the house is full of anxiety and strife, for this very cause, the Lord’s pity invites you to return.
So with this blessed confidence, lift up your request. Spread the wings of intercession over that child as a hen gathers her chicks, and believe that the Lord will cover the journey with feathers of protection, under which true warmth and ease are found. The studious man in his cloister fancies himself safe from common accidents, and the mariner trusts the most skillful captain, yet only in the good ship of Providence is there an absolutely safe passage. Every moment of that journey is known to Him who declares the end from the beginning, and not a hair of the head shall perish without His decree. He who suffered no little one to be despised of His angels will not suffer this lamb to be out of His sight. Only see to it that your own soul rests without wavering in the cleft of the Rock, for a doubting heart cannot bolster the faith of another. Return now, everyone, from every evil way, and you shall find that the God of all comfort can bring your child back to your embrace and establish harmony where discord has reigned. He who puts a new song in our mouth can make the very stones of the household sing together in praise.