By You

Then he said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again . . .” Genesis 46:3

When my son was an infant and later a toddler, he didn’t sleep well, taking a long time to fall asleep and waking up often during the night. Maybe it created a bad habit, but I found that if I just laid on the floor near his crib or later, laid down by him in bed, he’d fall asleep almost instantly. I’d say – Do you need me to lay down by you? When he began talking, those two words, By and You, morphed into one word, by-you. It became his request to me when he couldn’t sleep. Daddy, by-you? It was adorable and it was his way of asking me to be near him, comfort him, and help him rest. Alone, in the dark, he tossed and turned. When I was near, he slept peacefully. He grew out of it eventually, which meant I got more sleep, but still, I miss those days.

Jacob may not have used our phrase – by-you – but he understood the same principle. When he walked with God, God was near to him. Go here. Go there. Do this. Whatever God commanded, Jacob did, and God walked with him, assuring him, comforting him, and blessing him. In today’s passage, Jacob wrestled with leaving the land of Canaan, the promised land. He desperately wanted to go to Egypt to see his long-lost son Joseph, and he wanted to save his family from famine, but he also wanted to follow God’s will. God assured Jacob that he was meant to go to Egypt and that God would go with him, comforting and blessing him.

I learned the same principle in my addiction – by-you. On my own, following my way, my life was chaos. In walking away from God, I could never experience his peace, love, and comfort. It was only in abandoning my way for his, that I could feel him beside me. So often I prayed for peace, but remained unwilling to surrender the thing that was causing my angst. Even now, I’m still learning this lesson – by-you. When I experience inner turmoil, I must go to God, asking him what I must do or change. How am I contributing to my own unrest? What do you want me to do with this God? Please walk with me. When I daily seek God and his will, I find that he walks with me, providing life, joy, and peace. So, daily, I must go to God with my son’s request. God, by-you?