Psalm 68: 4 – 6: “Sing to God! Sing praises to His name. Exalt Him who rides on the clouds — His name is the LORD— and rejoice before Him. father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows, is God in His holy habitation. God settles the lonely in families…”
Many of us struggle with the concept of fatherhood. Some people have had fathers who were engrossed in their work. Other fathers may have been wonderful men, but they might never have experienced being the child of a loving and protective father. These men had no clear example to follow. Still others either had abusive fathers or never even knew their fathers.
When you have never experienced the love of a good father, you have no idea what to think. If your clearest memory of your father is the times he beat up your mother, you will naturally shy away from the term. But it’s time for all of that to change.
Cindi McMenamin, a Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer, says: “The Bible speaks of God as the ultimate Heavenly Father. (https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/10-ways-god-is-the-perfect-father-in-case-yours-wasn-t.html) Scripture says God’s ways are “perfect” (Psalm 18:30), that He is a “faithful God who does no wrong,” and is “upright and just“ (Deuteronomy 32:4). That makes Him the perfect Father you never had. If you didn’t have a father who was approachable, loving, and had your very best in mind, God – as your Heavenly Father – is waiting to more than make up for what you never had.”
Ms. McMenamin goes on to list 10 ways in which God is the perfect Father:
1. 1. God’s patience and kindness never runs out. Psalm 103:17 “from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.” God is always forgiving, never holds a grudge, and forgives you your past.
2. God the Father is always approachable. God never has a “bad day.” When you pray, God listens. Hebrews 4:16 says “Let us “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
3. You don’t have to earn God’s love. Earthly fathers frequently lay out unrealistic expectations, but God does not do that. Romans 5:8 says, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were messing up, God was already making a way for us to be with Him.
4. You will never blow it enough to lose his love. Since there was nothing you could do to earn your Heavenly Father’s love, there is nothing you can do to lose it. Romans 8:38-39 tells us, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
5. God has your very best in mind. Romans 8:32 ““He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
6. God the Father loves you enough to discipline you. Proverbs 3:11 – 12 ““do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” I had a foster sister who came to stay with us when she was 16 and I was 6. My sister refused to believe that my parents loved her until the day my mom swatted her bottom for something she did. That’s when my sister realized that my parents loved her enough to discipline her.
7. God’s timing is perfect. Psalm 84:11 says “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” God knows what we need and when we need it better than we do. Trust Him.
8. God gives wisdom generously. Some fathers give advice and if it isn’t heeded, that’s it. No more help. But James 1:5 says“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” God doesn’t punish you if you don’t get it right the first time.
9. God lets you make your own choices. Romans 8:28 says ” God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” But please realize that God knows that you might mess up. God is not sitting in heaven, hitting his forehead with his hand and saying “Why did I give that guy the chance to do that?” God can redeem our mistakes, if we will only confess them.
10. God knows you intimately. God doesn’t have to guess what you are thinking or feeling. Psalm 139:1-3 “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways”
Yes, God sees everything in our hearts. God knows us better than we know ourselvs. But the miracle is that knowing everything about us, God still loves us. If your earthly father was a disappointment, forgive him! You have no idea how bad things might have been for him. It doesn’t matter. You have a perfect heavenly Father. Run to Him!
PRAYER: Father God, many of us are afraid to call you that name. Our fathers have failed us. Lord, please help all who read this to embrace you as their perfect Father and to forgive their earthy fathers for their mistakes and inadequacies. Lord, thank you for loving us! In the mighty Name of your Son, Jesus, Amen.
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