Last Sunday we celebrated Father’s Day, and the theme of fatherhood reminded me of some verses in the book of Deuteronomy I had read not too long ago. In the passage, Moses is recounting to the children of Israel how they were fearful and doubted that God would give them the land He had promised to their father, Abraham, and he reminds them of what God had done for them in Egypt, and how He was faithful to carry them through this wilderness.
“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ Yet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord your God, who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.” (Deuteronomy 1:31-33)
And the wonderful truth is that God not only did this for the children of Israel, but He is doing this for His children today! He is the Gentle Shepherd who is carrying us in His arms, and He goes before us to “search out a place” for us, lighting our path with the lamp of His Word to show us the way we should go. And yet so many times we are like the children of Israel and we doubt God’s promises and grumble and complain. I always feel silly after I catch myself doing that…because I am like a little toddler who tries to gripe and complain and disobey their father, who, if he is a good father, is only doing the things that are the very best for that child, even if the child doesn’t understand it.
The Bible has many verses that talk about God as our Heavenly Father, who has created everything, desires for us to be His children, loves us more than anyone else, is compassionate, provides for His children’s needs, is good, chastens those He loves, and is slow to anger and great in mercy:
“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” (1 Corinthians 8:6)
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” (John 1:12)
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1)
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26)
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:11-14)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3)
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11)
“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” (Galatians 4:4-7)
“And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.” (Hebrews 12:5-10)
“The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.” (Psalm 145:8)
I love how God uses families and fathers to picture the relationship He desires to have with us! I have been blessed with an amazing godly father who has sought to lead his family in a Christ-like way – in love and in the truth, wanting what is best for his children. He would be the first to admit that he is not perfect, no human father is. They can fail us, because they are sinners just like everyone else.
But the truth is that God is the perfect Father who will NEVER fail us, never leave us, never forsake us. And those of us who are children of God have the promise that He will guide and direct us by His Holy Spirit, if we are being sensitive to hearing His voice and allowing ourselves to be carried in our Father’s arms! He hasn’t left us to figure out life on our own. I don’t know about you, but I find these truths to be SO freeing and it fills me with such a calm assurance. I know all this to be true about God not only because He says so in His Word, but because I have experienced this so many times in my own life! And sometimes, He will lead us through the wilderness to get us to a place where we can’t lean on our own understanding and we can’t see what lies ahead, so that we will have to trust Him for each step, and HE will get the glory from our lives that He so richly deserves!
Sincerely,
p.s. If you cannot say for certain that you know God as your Heavenly Father, please check out The Most Important Question, or shoot me a message, I would love to talk to you!
sincerely-amanda.com 