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The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. Psalm 103:13 (NLT)
One of the reasons we, as parents, can at times become exasperated with our children is that we fear they will make the same harmful decisions we made when we were young. It’s as if, as we are growing up, there is this voice inside of us saying, “My kid will never do this!” We enter adult life with all sorts of dreams about what we can become. Before long we find ourselves as parents and realize it’s too late to make those dreams on our own. To compensate for our own shortcomings we resolve that our children will not travel down the same detour in life. They will have a better life.
The Psalmist likens God to a loving father who is tender and compassionate. When we read that comparison we may see an image in our mind of a father holding an infant or walking hand in hand with a child down a quiet, softly lit forest path while flowers bloom and birds sing cheerfully in the trees. Then reality sets in and we come back to consciousness just as our teenager enters the house and announces he wrecked the car!
It’s humbling to realize that our reaction to this event is what shows our child what God is like. When we hear the statement “God is like our father.” What images come to mind? Do you see love and compassion or anger and coldness? When you think of God as your father, how does he talk to you? Does he talk with sarcasm and criticism or acceptance and encouragement?
It’s not surprising in our society that people have a misconception of what God is like. We are all wired to see our fathers as reflections of what God is like. The unfortunate fact is that fathers are human. No one, not even Jesus Christ, had a father that was perfect in every way. As a result we can see God the way our fathers were, sometimes angry, aloof, insensitive, selfish, and apathetic or the like.
- Earthly fathers may fail us, but your Heavenly Father NEVER WILL;
- Earthly fathers may leave us, but your Heavenly Father promises to always be with you;
- Earthly fathers break promises, but your Heavenly Father always does what He says He’ll do;
- Earthly fathers may become preoccupied, but your Heavenly Father always has you at the center of his attention;
- Earthly fathers may be disappointed in us; your Heavenly Father is always proud of who you are, even when you fail!
- Earthly fathers may become angry with us, your Heavenly Fathers anger is reserved for the actions of sin and the enemy of our souls;
- Earthy father’s may cheat, your Heavenly Father remains faithful to what is right.
- Earthly fathers may forget, your Heavenly Father never forgets you. He doesn’t forget birthdays or ball games or special event of your life.
- Earthly fathers may put work ahead of you, your Heavenly Father always has you in first place in His mind.
If you are struggling today with the wounds left by an earthly father who left you scarred emotionally or physically please realize your Heavenly Father longs to show you a true and loving relationship through His son Jesus christ. If you read the list above and realize how wonderful your earthly father really is thank God (and your dad) for being the man that he is.
PRAYER: Father God, I confess to you that I say you are my ‘Father’ way to flippantly without realizing what that really means. I thank you for who you are as my Heavenly Father and for always being there to lift me up, encourage me, guide me and forgive me. I pray you would help me to be a parent and child that shows others how loving you are. Amen.
These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message. Genesis 49:28 (NLT)
Ever notice how many times people ask you, “So, how are you today?” You know they don’t really want to know. The words slip meaninglessly from their lips and once in a while you think it would be fun to tell them how you REALLY are and make them stand and listen to the whole story! Then maybe they’d think twice about asking flippant questions they have no desire to hear the answer to.
We all say things from time to time that are just empty words. Words that we intend to be kind and thoughtful, in reality become empty clichés. If we aren’t careful they even creep into our prayer life. How often have you said ‘grace’ before a meal, thanking God for the food without really giving it a second thought? For most of us we eat way too much food, much of it that isn’t even good for us, while many in the world, perhaps even in our own communities, are going without food for the third day in a row because they just don’t have the money.
One of my most annoying habits in my own prayer life is using the phrase, “And Lord bless my friend _______ today.” One day I thought about what I’d just said. I imagined God listening in and thinking, “Um, okay. I can do that. How should I bless him? I have plenty of options. What do you want me to do for him?” That thought began a pattern of change in my prayer life. A pattern, I’m sad to say, continues to be a struggle. Now, when I pray I try to be specific, or if nothing else ask God for wisdom in how to pray.
The great patriarch, Jacob, was nearing the end of his life. As he addressed his sons he blessed them, but the Bible says he “Blessed each one with an APPROPRIATE message.” As a loving father who had walked many miles through life, who’d seen struggles and pain and knew each of his sons well enough to know that they needed in life, he blessed them with just the thing they needed for the path ahead.
Jacob’s words are an example of our Heavenly Father’s desire for each of us. He knows just what we will need to make it in this journey we call life. God’s blessings for us are not ‘One Size Fits All’. They are tailored for our specific needs, and customized to help us according to our mindset, our emotional make-up, our past.
Spend time with your Heavenly Father. Learn from Him through prayer, regular Bible reading and healthy Christian fellowship. His desire is to bless each of us richly and those blessings come more frequently when we walk close to Him.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I thank You for the fact that you know my every need on an individual basis. I thank you that your desire is to bless me according to my own unique, one-of-a-kind emotional and intellectual make-up. No one knows me better than You! I ask that you would empower me to walk closer to you so that I can experience your blessings in my life to the fullest. I also ask that you would help me to learn to bless others in the same way that you have blessed me. Amen.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
Remember the story about the little engine that surprised himself and everyone else when he was able to carry the huge load over the mountain? The other ‘trains’ came up with all sorts of excuses for why the project couldn’t be done. Only the little blue engine considered trying to pull the long train over the mountain. He pulled and strained and worked with all the determination inside him, all the while saying “I think I can.” Finally, he DID!
That silly little children’s story carries a huge message to us as Christ-followers. Each of us faces struggles and trials that seem like huge mountains in our path. Some of those mountains are mountains of our own doing. We’ve dug ourselves in a hole in relationships or poor choices. We face mountains of debt either of our own doing or because of some economic disaster. We stand at the edge of a huge canyon filled with doubt, worry or regret.
As we stand and survey the problem there will be those who will say, “You may as well just learn to deal with it. You can’t change things.” Others will give all sorts of reasons why they can’t help or a whole list of reasons why you shouldn’t be in this position in the first place (like that will help with the solution).
All of these nay-Sayers offer no practical help, but in reality the biggest enemy to conquering the seemingly impossible is you! The little engine didn’t look at the size of the load. The little engine didn’t consider the words of the others who refused to help. It didn’t look at its own size. Rather than considering all the reasons why it couldn’t be done, the little engine decided within him that he ‘thought he could do it.’
As we face the challenges of daily living, whether that be debt, worry, shame, guilt, relational issues or any other obstacle, we have one thing the little engine didn’t have. We have the promise of our Heavenly Father that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is beside us, helping us all the way through. It’s not by our strength and determination that we’ll conquer the issues ahead of us. It is by our reliance on His strength that we’ll be able to overcome.
Whether the challenge you face is of your own doing, or the result of someone else’s greedy and abusive action. You can overcome with the strength Jesus will give you. Draw close to Him in relationship. Ignore those who doubt your ability to move on. Trust His strength to carry you through.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank you for your promise to stand with me in every situation. I’m looking a huge challenge in face today and I’m not sure how I’m going to succeed. Others haven’t given me much hope. My past and my own lack of self-confidence keeps me paralyzed with fear. I ask that you would help me to rely on your power and strength to move forward in confidence and strength. With you by my side I don’t just ‘think I can’, I KNOW WE CAN. Thank you for that promise. Amen.
Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the Lord. He set up his camp at that place, and his servants dug another well. Genesis 26:25 (NLT)
In the early days of the Old Testament it was common for people to build altars to the Lord. Noah, Abraham, Isaac Jacob and Moses were the ones who most often built altars to the Lord. The altars during this time bore special significance because they involved an action or promise by the God of the Universe and a sacrifice as an act of worship by man because of what God had done for him. Altars spoke to God’s working on behalf of man.
The early patriarchs of the Old Testament weren’t just known for building altars. The land in which they lived was dry and there was a constant need to provide water for the livestock. Out of necessity wells were dug to provide life and refreshment for the animals as well as the families that owned them. On several occasions these wells were dug as special reminders of God’s blessings and promises. As the altars reminded man of God’s forgiveness and awesome power, the wells were a reminder that God is the provider of life and refreshment. Just as all living things need water to live, mankind needs the living water that God grants us for spiritual life.
God instructed the great patriarchs of the Bible to build altars and wells, not cities and houses. The reason for this is that life isn’t about settling in and being content. Life is a journey. It’s a journey that leads us through lush valleys, desert wasteland and mountain top highs. But along the way we pass the altars and the wells and remind ourselves that God is on His throne. He is all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful and longing for a relationship with us.
In Jesus Christ we have the ultimate sacrifice so we no longer need to build altars for sacrifice. In Jesus Christ we have living water that satisfies eternally so wells are not necessary. While we no longer build physical altars or dig physical wells where God has met us, it is important for us to note spiritual benchmarks where God has met us in a real and powerful way.
These are not to be worshipped or held onto tightly. They are simply to be reminders along the journey that Jehovah God has come to us. A personal relationship with Jesus brings forgiveness when we fail and new life for eternity. Each of the most well-known altar and well builders, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses made major moral mistakes in their lives. Still God used them in mighty ways. He longs to do the same for each of us.
Live in such a way that God can reveal Himself to you so that you can build altars and wells that those who come behind you will see and use to find their own way along the journey God has for them. Altars and wells. They aren’t just for you. They aren’t just for today.
PRAYER: Father God. Thank you for the examples of men like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac and Moses. Men who failed, yet experienced your love and forgiveness. You know my heart. You know my failings, my anger, and my impatience with others. You know my tendency to be content to rest on yesterday’s victories. Empower me through your Holy Spirit to move forward so that the life I live will be altars and wells that those who come behind me will be able to use as a guide to following your ways. Amen.
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:22-24
Why is it that some people seem to have the ability to pray for things and see those things come to pass while others pray and it seems like their prayers never get past the ceiling? The Bible is full of examples of great men and women of God who have prayed for personal or national healing and deliverance and seen great things happen.
Even in our world we hear of people who have prayed for miracles to happen in their lives and seen God work mightily in making things happen. Yet for many of us, while we ‘believe’ God CAN do anything, in those quiet times we confess to ourselves that ‘He won’t do those things in me.
There are many lessons we can learn from the story in the Gospel of Mark about faith, about prayer and about doubt. The fact of the matter is, if we believe God is who we say He is, and if we really believe that His power can accomplish anything, and then we have to believe that Jesus’ words are true. If we have the faith, we can move mountains.
When we pray for miracles to happen, one thing we must ask ourselves is this. “Who gets the glory for my answer?” Many times our prayers are self-seeking. That’s not necessarily the same as self-ish. Selfish can have a negative connotation. Self-seeking simply means that in reality, we want this miracle for us. It will make us feel better about ourselves, it will make others respect us more or it will in some way make my life easier.
There are many times in Jesus’ ministry when He made the statement that ‘this was done so My Father will be glorified’. Our Father in Heaven is more than willing and able to do ANYTHING we ask, but our motives must be in the right place. Everything we do in life should be with the desire to see God glorified and His name proclaimed to those in our world.
Secondly, when we pray for miracles we must remember that God has promised that He knows what is best for us. In one of Jesus’ teachings on prayer He asks this question: “If a child asks his father for bread would that father give him a stone?” The answer of course is, “NO, never!” We know that a loving father would never give his child something bad for him when he needs something good. But the opposite is also true. If we ask our Heavenly Father for something we honestly think will be good for us, but in the big picture it could be harmful, He won’t give it to us. He loves us to much to give us things that will hurt us.
Draw close to Jesus. Walk with him daily. Read His love letter to you. Pray believing that He CAN answer your prayers and trust Him to answer those prayers in the way that will be the best for you and bring glory to him.
PRAYER: Father God, I have to admit that there are many times when I’ve prayed and been disappointed in your response to me. There are so many things I’ve prayed for that haven’t happened and now, when I pray I doubt you will really answer. Forgive me for my lack of faith. Empower me with Your Spirit to pray believing you hear me and that even when I don’t get what I want, you will give me everything I need. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 