THRIVE Issue 03
Hey Freind,
We thrive when we know WHO God is.
God is our Father
God is our Father, but His name can be translated into a more intimate name likened to Daddy or Papa…
The name Father is softened and tenderly refers to a daddy or papa. It reveals that we have the ability to come to our heavenly Father with an expectation of His tender care. He is our good, good Father which connotes that He is there for us whenever we need Him.
As a good Father: He will never leave us.
Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV) The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Truth is: God is not a distant Father. He is close. He is with each one of us. He goes before us preparing the way and He walks with us as we go through this life. His promise is to NEVER leave you and never forsake you. Almighty God is your daddy. That is why we are told to not be afraid and not to be discouraged. HE IS WITH YOU EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
Do you come to your heavenly Father with that type of trust? Do you trust that He is with you? Do you know He goes before you? He is close like a good, good Father.
As our good Father: We can run to Him when we are hurting.
Why do we not come to Him? So many times we know that our Father is there and will help us but we try to do it all by our self. He is near. He desires to walk closely with us. But He is also gentle and will not force His way upon us. He desires a relationship of love and trust with each of us. If we trust Him, we will run to Him, right?
Psalm 9:9-10 (NIV)
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Just like a child runs to her good earthly daddy when she gets hurt, so can we run to our heavenly Daddy when we are hurting. We can run to Him in our times of trouble. He is close to the brokenhearted and He saves those who are crushed. He is our refuge… a safe place that we can run to. Other times we may feel like we do not want to bother God with our problems. He is always close to us, and He especially presses in when we are hurting.
Psalm 34:18 (NIV)
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
As a good Father He is loving.
LOVE IS WHO HE IS.
1 John 4:15-16 (NIV)
If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
My obstacle to knowing God as a good Father:
It WAS Very hard for me to believe that God was loving because my example of my earthly father was not loving. When we can't trust those, that were put in charge of us to be loving it's really hard to trust God. Unfortunately, we attempt to shackle God with the same negative expectations that we have for others.
LET’S NOT SHACKLE GOD WITH THE SAME NEGATIVE EXPECTATIONS THAT WE HAVE FOR OTHERS. He really is our good, good Father! He is our loving Daddy. He will never leave you. He is with you and you can run to Him with anything and everything. He loves YOU!
Regardless of whether you had a great loving earthly father or you were disappointed, abandoned, or wounded by your dad… The truth remains that our God is a good, good Father. He is our Daddy that is pleased with us. He will never leave us alone. You are loved by Him.
Please take a few minutes to listen to this song by Chris Tomlin, Good, Good Father. I added a version that has a video background with the words. Please allow these words to wash over you afresh today. Make this the song of your heart!
THIS LIFE IS HARD. But having a loving Father makes all the difference. If you need to grow in this area. Please pray, “Lord show me today and every day that you are a loving Father. Prompt my heart to run to You. Teach me to stay close to You, walk with You, and enjoy the relationship that I am blessed to have with You. Help me to know I am loved by You.”
Let’s THRIVE as we press into the relationship we get to have with our loving heavenly Father! Hit reply if you want to share your heart with me… is it easy or are you working on coming to God as a good Father.
Walking with Him is the BEST way to live!
Dawn Marasco
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