Yes, WE, as in you AND I.
With deep gratitude I say this: I had one of the best fathers in the world. And I’m married to one of the best fathers in the world. To my dear husband, friend, and the father of my children, James, HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! I love you & am so thankful for the Godly father & example you are to our children. We are blessed by and because of you!!!
So in one sense, my heart is gratefully full today. But in another way, absent loved ones have left “leaks” that can turn into gaping holes if I let them. My daddy has been with Jesus for 17 1/2 years now, and so much of life has changed that it’s getting hard to imagine what he would be like if he were still around. We gathered with Daddy’s side of the family yesterday and I missed him even more acutely. One thing is for sure: he would have loved the gathering, the family, the laughter, the children, and of course, the food! I’m smiling as I type this… And tearing up at the same time.
If I’m not careful, Father’s Day can be a sad day.
But over the past 17 Father’s Days without my dad, the Lord has done the sweetest thing for me. Most every morning of the year I study a “Name of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit.” I have a long list with hundreds of names, and I just work my way down the list one by one. It’s like opening a gift from God every day as I discover WHO He will be to me for the day. Somehow, every Father’s Day weekend, I just “happen” to be at a name of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit that reminds me that I DO still have a Daddy here… and He is everything I need a Daddy to be.
Names like:
Abba – Romans 8:15
Father – Isaiah 9:6
Father of Compassion – 2 Corinthians 1:3
Father of Our Spirits – Hebrews 12:9
Father of the Heavenly Lights – James 1:17
Father to the Fatherless – Psalm 68:5
God of all Comfort – 2 Corinthians 1:3
God of the Living – Matthew 22:32
God our Father – Colossians 1:2
Helper of the Fatherless – Psalm 10:14
Holy Father – John 17:11
Keeper – Isaiah 27:3
My Benefactor – Psalm 71:6
My Support – 2 Samuel 22:19
Righteous Father – John 17:25
The Glorious Father – Ephesians 1:17
My Intercessor – Hebrews 7:25
Shield – Psalm 28:7
Source of Life – Acts 3:15
Wonderful Counselor – Isaiah 9:6
The One Who Speaks – Hebrews 12:25
Spirit of Sonship (Adoption) – Romans 8:15
It’s such a gift to be reminded of this. What a wonderful Abba we all have! I love Him so!!!
Because my dad was such a wise, unselfish, patient, and loving father, it has been easy for me to believe that God the Father is wise, unselfish, patient, and loving. But I realize that many didn’t have a dad like mine, which makes intimacy with and trust in our Heavenly Father a little more difficult to accept. Whether we had the best or the worst earthly dad, or whether our dads are present or not, we all have a Father we can celebrate this weekend.
Our Heavenly Daddy.
He loves us, provides for us, walks with us, laughs and cries with us, rejoices over us, carries our burdens for us, and He even laid down His life for ours.
He keeps His promises, and He will NEVER leave us… no matter what! He is the Father to the fatherless. He is the Daddy we all dream of having.
As great as our earthly dads are, they are still human. None of them are perfect. But God the Father is. And friends, we need to release God from being bound in our minds and hearts by the faults and failures of our earthly dads. God is NOT like man. Man will fail us. God will not. His Word promises:
“You are the helper of the fatherless.” Psalm 10:14 (NIV)
“Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.” Psalm 27:10 (NLT)
“Father of orphans, champion of widows, is God in his holy house.” Psalm 68:5 (Msg)
You, LORD, are our Father. We are nothing but clay, but you are the potter who molded us. Isaiah 64:8 (CEV)
If this is a sad weekend for you or someone you love, may the Father, our Abba Daddy, remind you of who you have in Him. You have THE BEST FATHER IN THE WORLD!!! So when you awake on Father’s Day morning, whether you get to say it to anyone else in your life, you can open your eyes with a smile and tell your Perfect Daddy – the One who will never leave nor forsake you, “Happy Father’s Day!” 🙂
