MY PERFECT FRIEND AND FATHER - Nicky Cruz

Today I am still a broken little boy inside and God is still my Father. Everywhere I go, I look to Him to walk beside me, hold my hand, lead me. When I stumble and fall, He reaches down and picks me up. He dusts off my clothes, kisses the hurt, and then continues with me down the road.

When I do something right, I see Him smiling, clapping, showing His support. When I do something wrong, He scolds and disciplines. When I get tired and weary, He holds me up, beckoning me forward and encouraging me not to give up. When I’m frightened, He takes my hand. When I’m sad, He kisses my heart.

I look to Jesus for help and guidance in everything I do, and He has never failed me. He has always been there when I needed Him.

This loving relationship I have with my Father is one that began more than fifty years ago. It hasn’t always been easy. At times I’ve pulled away from Him, tried to go my own way, even rebelled, but He has always been there to receive me with His arms outstretched, waiting for me to turn back to Him. His faithfulness has never waned — He’s the perfect friend and Father. My faithfulness to Him, however, was a quality I had to learn, one that I’m still working on every day. It’s a lifelong process.

When I first gave my heart to Jesus, I had no idea where this newfound faith would take me. I was scared and alone, wondering how He would rescue me from the people and things of my past, the gangs and drugs that held me captive. I didn’t know how to be His child, but He showed me, mentored me along the way. But throughout those years I witnessed firsthand what can happen when we allow God’s Spirit to be loosed within and among us, when we tap into His glory and allow Him to work and move and minister through us.

Nicky Cruz, internationally known evangelist and prolific author, turned to Jesus Christ from a life of violence and crime after meeting David Wilkerson in New York City in 1958. The story of his dramatic conversion was told first in The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and then later in his own best-selling book Run, Baby, Run.