Daddy, Why Aren’t You Taking Care of Me?

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Daddy, Why Aren't You Taking Care of Me? | Encouraging word by Jamie Rohrbaugh | FromHisPresence.com

The screaming reverberated in my ears as I tried to comfort my son.

No, it wasn’t my screaming, even though I do sometimes holler along with him if he won’t stop (just for fun). (Hey, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right?)

But no, this time, I wasn’t the one making noise. It was my baby, and he was screaming at the top of his lungs. He refused to be comforted.

His scream tore at my heart.

It went on and on, and the way he looked at me and screamed made me so sad … because his scream sounded for all the world like he was saying:

“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Where are you, Mommy? Why aren’t you here? Why aren’t you feeding me? Why aren’t you taking care of me? Where are you, Mommy? I need you, and you’ve left me all alone! Mommy! Mommy! Mommyyyyyyyyyy! Help me! Why aren’t you helping me, Mommy?”

Of course, he’s only a month old. He doesn’t have any words yet. He may not have been thinking these things at all. But, that is sure what he sounded like.

Related: Open Your Mouth Wide, and I Will Fill It!

And you know where he was during this screaming episode?

In my arms.

Both of my hands holding him tightly, safer than safe.

Laying against me, tummy to tummy, skin to skin …

… with his face against my chest as I tried to get him to nurse.

But he didn’t want to nurse.

He was hungry, all right. But he didn’t want to be quiet and receive. He wanted to scream, even when his face was right up against me. “Why aren’t you taking care of me, Mommy? I need you!”

And yet there I was the whole time, taking perfect care of him. I was trying so hard to comfort him, insistently trying to get him to latch on and drink his milk. Everything he needed was literally right in front of his nose, and I was 110% determined to make sure he had everything he needed.

I squeezed him tighter and drew him as close to me as it was possible to get.

But I couldn’t force him.

He laid close against me, screaming. His mouth was wide open and would not close, and he can’t drink with an open mouth!

The only way I could have forced him to nurse would be to have actually pushed his jaw closed … and I would never do that. It would hurt him.

So I waited. Waited for him to stop screaming. Continued to hold his head and body as close to myself as I could. Continued to talk to him, croon to him, and try to comfort him, until …

… eventually …

… he stopped screaming, latched, and began to feed.

And then I realized that you and I are exactly like that with our Heavenly Daddy, our Abba, our Papa, our Father God.

We go through hard times … situations and circumstances that are harder than hard. We get lonely, depressed, and discouraged. When we do, we begin to cry:

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddyyyyyy! Where are you? Why aren’t you here? Daddy, why aren’t you feeding me? Why aren’t you taking care of me? Where are you, Daddy? I need you, and you’ve left me all alone! Daddy! Daddy! Daddyyyyyyyyyy! Help me! Why aren’t you helping me, Daddy?”

I have done this so many times.

So many times I’ve felt abandoned, discouraged, and lower than low.

So many times I’ve wondered why God didn’t do what I wanted Him to do. I thought the only way He could “come through for me” would be to solve my problem the way I wanted, when I wanted, now. I’ve wondered why, and when, and why not yet, and why did He let this happen? Where is He? 

And I’ve wondered, why wasn’t He taking care of me?

But every time–every individual, single, solitary time I have felt like this–I have come out on the other side of the problem seeing:

  • that He was right there with me the whole time.
  • That He never left me nor forsook me.
  • That I never had a single need that He didn’t supply.

He has taken care of me every time. There has never been a moment when He didn’t feed me all the food I needed. He had everything I needed, and He made sure I got it.

But while we go through trials, do we act like a baby acts?

Do we scream and holler? Do we ignore the peace God is offering us, while we lay at His breast and scream?

“Why, God, why? When, God, when? How, God, how? Daddy, why aren’t You taking care of me??????”

And yet He is there the whole time. He has us in His arms, lying down on His bosom. He is drawing us close to Him; so close that we can feel and hear His heartbeat. So close that we feel His every breath as we are held in His arms.

And still we scream.

But our loving Papa, our Daddy God, our Father will not force us.

He will not try to make us receive from Him. He is certainly strong enough to make us sit down and hush up; strong enough to force-feed us. But He would never do that. It would hurt us.

Instead, He waits for us to quiet in His arms. He’s right there, arms wrapped around us. He’s holding us closer than close. He has us in His hands, safer than safe. Nothing bad is going to happen to us as long as He’s there … and He’ll always be there.

But still we scream.

What would happen if you and I simply stopped screaming and began trusting instead?

When my baby finally stops screaming, he can begin to eat. He then receives everything he needs. All he has to do is acknowledge that I AM there, and I AM taking care of him, and I’m ready to give him all he needs at a moment’s notice.

What if we did the same thing? What if we started admitting that our Papa Daddy God IS here, and He IS with us, and He IS taking care of us–even if we can’t feel His arms holding us?

What if we acknowledged that He is drawing us close, putting us right into position to receive from Him?

And what if we calmed and quieted our soul, stopped screaming, and simply began to trust?

What will happen if you and I just begin to trust that He’s got us, and we look at Him, open our mouths wide, and peacefully, calmly, let Him feed us?

Answer: Everything would happen. Everything will happen. As soon as we stop screaming …

… stop complaining …

… stop doubting …

and begin to say, “Daddy, You’re here! I know You’re feeding me, and I’m ready to eat!”

There’s a big difference between telling the Lord “I know You’re helping me because Your Word says so. Thank you” … compared to “Why aren’t You helping me? Where are You? Why did You leave me?”

And in hard times, we have to look at the truth of God’s Word.

Papa God really is with you right now.

He really does have you wrapped up, safe and sound, in His arms. He really is holding you close. He really is listening to your cry, and He’s trying to comfort you. Why? Because you can’t eat until you stop screaming.

And trust.

Beloved, your Papa’s got you. You’re safe in His arms.

Draw close to Him. Seek Him, for He will be found. He’s right there with you. Just acknowledge Him! He IS helping you; thank Him for His help!

As you start to accept that whatever His Word says about how He is taking care of you is REALITY, is truth … then you will find yourself receiving all the milk you need.

Does this message speak to your heart today? Do you need to calm and quiet yourself in Papa’s arms? If so, leave a comment below! I love hearing from you.

18 Comments

  1. Elizabeth Tuinidau says:

    Amen Sis Jamie !!!Halleluya for the great mighty word of God,i do receive n it’s mine exactly for what I’m going through right now..thank you sooo much n it really empowers n strengthens me to hear God’s word this afternoon concerning the circumstances i am facing right now…Thank you God for your life Sis Jamie..

  2. Linda Davies says:

    Thank you Jamie , so powerful

  3. Thank you, Jamie, for this nugget of truth this morning!!!

  4. Thank you Jamie, needed to hear this today.

  5. Angela Webb says:

    Thank you Jamie! The truth hits home with such force and clarity and at the same time the simplicity of the example makes me wonder: How many times God speaks to us in simple ways and we miss what He’s saying to us. I pray we take time to listen and be sensitive to His voice.
    Thank you! May God continue to reveal His thoughts to you as you yield yourself to Him.

  6. Sharon Johnson says:

    Thank you for this word. I so need it today because I forget that God is with me. I forget that He has His loving arms around me. I need Him so right now, and this was a good reminder that He will NEVER leave me nor forsake me. Praise God!

  7. Karen James says:

    Yes LORD, help me to quiet my heart and just rest in YOU. I know YOU got me because YOUR Word says YOU will never leave me nor forsake me. Even in my doubts YOU are always with me holding me in YOUR strong arms.

  8. CHRISTINA ODell says:

    I needed this today. It turned my heart around and was put back in the place of total trusting. Thank you Pappa for your daughter Jamie. Thank you Pappa!

  9. This speaks to me right where I’m at. I am in a season of anger and can’t put my finger on why. My father passed away December 1, I turned 60 in 2017 and my health went with it, fast! Two heart stents, diabetes, arthritis in my knees, thyroid, overweight, etc. I am one hot mess Jamie, lol. I really have no reason to complain. I have a good life. I just need to keep walking and even though I am screaming Daddy, He has me in His arms and when the time is right, I’ll see He was there all along. So difficult though when you don’t feel well. Pray for me ladies!

    On a positive note, I’m so thrilled for you Jamie in the new addition to your family! I know you waited for a long time! Congratulations!

  10. Tracy Willis says:

    Yes this was for me sister thank u good and yourself

  11. Maria Torrealba says:

    Amen thank you for this beautiful word from God thank you jeimie

  12. Lucy Gray says:

    I do not know how you do this but it’s like you know the exact situation I am living at this very moment and address it. Thank you for your inspired and inspiring words!

  13. Angela Villarreal says:

    Wow! This was so me yesterday! I kept on crying and screaming why aren’t you helping me God why are you ignoring me! Today this was confirmation for me especially after talking to my pastor and him telling me God is with you stop crying and complaining be still and know he is with you and trust him to take care of you the way he knows how. Amen!

  14. Dear Jamie.,, thank you for your obbedience, this web page is really a channel of life… river of aliving water! Be blessed. I will pray for you and your blog here. Thank you sooooo much!!!

  15. Thank you Jamie!! I so needed to hear this today!! Thank you!
    God Bless You!
    Rachael

  16. Fernela Melchor says:

    Thank you Jamie for such an inspiring message. God Bless you.

  17. Thank you for posting this Jamie, it has helped me so much. I feel like this a lot of the time! I think hearing it from a different perspective knowing how to deal with it is great. Thanks again!

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