After he and his father had covered 3 miles on their 4-mile hike, 3-year-old Seth was tired out and stumbling along. Even so, he insisted on carrying the canteen that his dad, Pastor Daniel Little, had tried to persuade him they wouldn't need. Finally, though, Seth tearfully requested, "Will you please carry me, Daddy?"

So the father hoisted his son onto his shoulders. As he put Seth down at the end of their hike, the boy exclaimed, "See, Dad, I carried the canteen all the way."

Our first response may be to smile at the child's naiveté. But in the boy's response, the dad saw something of his own attitude toward God. Our heavenly Father has invited us to cast all our care upon Him (1 Pet. 5:7). Still we persist in thinking that we can do it all ourselves--holding tightly to those cares and claiming credit after we survive some difficulty.

Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord reminded Israel that He had been carrying them from their birth as a nation (Isa. 46:3-4). Yet they had become proud and self-sufficient, and they were headed for disaster if they persisted.

Let's stop fooling ourselves. We are weak and He is strong. As we hand over our "canteens" to Him, we will experience His gift of peace and His blessing.  — Vernon C. Grounds