This is a re-post of what the Lord has given me concerning Father’s Day. It used to be a sad day for us… but God, our Father, has restored our joy. If you are missing the man in your life, especially if this is your first Father’s Day without him, I am praying for you as I re-read and re-affirm my trust in our Heavenly Daddy, who doesn’t make mistakes. May He be ever so close to you, and may He reveal Himself to you this weekend in a special Abba-type way.
(from June 2012)
With deep gratitude I say this: I had one of the best fathers in the world. He died 15 ½ years ago and we miss him terribly… Especially on special days like Father’s Day.
If I’m not careful, Father’s Day can be a sad day for me. I so very much wish my dad was still around to enjoy his intimate friendship with my mom; fishing, football, basketball, and baseball with his grandchildren; and retirement escapades with his friends. But our Wise God had other plans for Daddy, and he is now enjoying face-to-face fellowship with our Lord. I am happy for Daddy. But sad for us. Especially on days like Father’s Day.
But over the past 15 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. 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!” 🙂
