The Fatherhood of God

As a child, I looked forward to Father’s Day. My anticipation had little to do
with my dad, but everything to do with school letting out for the summer right around
that holiday. Just like Mother’s Day is a day to honor our mothers, Father’s Day is a day
to honor our fathers and show them how proud we are of them and how much we love
and appreciate them.

I do not remember how I learned this, but prisons have carts that contain things for the
prisoners to buy. Each year, they sell out of their Mother’s Day cards and each year,
hardly any Father’s Day cards are sold. That alone sends a message loud and clear that
our nation is in a Fatherhood crisis.

Fathers are desperately needed in our families.

At Renovation Church, the men of the church gather before Sunday service. This is the
first church where I have experienced this. I love it! It is so needed across this nation.
The men stand up front. Their wives stand behind them supporting, affirming, and
praying for them. Each week, the men speak over themselves a creed that lists
part of who they are as leaders in their lives and homes. It includes four descriptors all
starting with the letter “P”. They are Priest, Prophet, Provider, and Protector.

I like the “P” descriptors, and I have started looking for others that apply to our Father
God. So far, my list has the following:
Partner - 2 Corinthians 6:1
Peacemaker - Isaiah 26:3
Progenitor (a person or thing from which others are descended or originate) - Genesis
1:26-27
Project Planner - Jeremiah 29:11
Propitiation - 1 John 2:2
Protagonist - The main character in a story. All of history is His story. It is all about Him!
- John 21:25

This list is not complete. Imagine how long it would be if words that start with other
letters were added - Counselor, Guide, Healer, Lover, Redeemer, Rescuer, and Savior, just to name a few.

Some of us have had a wonderful father, others may have had an emotionally distant
father, abusive father, or never even knew their father. Wherever you fit in that
spectrum, there is one thing we all have in common.

We all have a heavenly Father.

These are some scriptures about God as our Father that I claim for myself.

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation." - Psalm 68:5

"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba Father.'" - Romans 8:15

"I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." - 2 Corinthians 6:18

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:26

Since it is Father’s Day and God is our Father, I want to honor Him by sharing a few things He has done for me and how He has shown up in my life. He is such a good Father. I KNOW that what He has done for me, He will do for you, and much more besides.

Healer 
My oldest daughter was very young and was not talking yet. She woke up with spots all over her body and would not stop crying. I had never seen anything like it before, and I did not know what to do. My four-year-old was the only other one home with me. Not knowing what else to do, I prayed to God for help and God told me what was wrong and what to do for her. I did not believe Him and did nothing but worry and try to soothe her. About a half hour later, I finally remembered I could call a nurse. So, I did. The nurse told me the EXACT same thing God had told me. I repented and obeyed. My little girl started feeling better soon afterwards.

Counselor 
I had a major decision to make. I was going back and forth trying to decide
what to do. Finally, I told God that, if He wanted me to, I would do what I thought was
the Biblical thing to do though I knew it would put me and my kids in danger. I heard, in
my head, quite loudly, God telling me that He had never wanted me in that situation in
the first place. He showed me that, because of my pride, I, not He, had put myself there. That revelation gave me the freedom I needed to repent, make the decision, move forward,
and seek Him more.

Provider
I was a single mom with six kids to raise. God provided for us. There were times when I did not have enough money to take care of everything, yet we never missed a meal. There was always something to eat. He provided gas for the car FOR AN ENTIRE MONTH, and new winter shoes for the kids. I asked God for a sweater for myself. Soon after I had asked, not only did I have a sweater, but it was just the kind I wanted. Since then, I have had to give sweaters away over and over because they just keep coming.

Protector 
My middle son wears glasses with thick, glass lenses. He was around 10 years old when he fell and hit his left eye on the corner of the coffee table. The lens cracked and glass shards were in his eye. The ER doctors put dye in his eye and had a special light shining on him, so the shards were visible. They were able to remove most of them, but there were two that were stuck. It was decided surgery was needed and they left to go prep. My son started crying and said, “Mommy, I don’t want another surgery!” We prayed out loud; he and I. We were saying “Amen” when I saw a shard, forcefully pop out of his eye. I ran to get the doctors. When we got back into the room, not only was that shard gone, but the other one was not there either. There was no surgery for him that day and he had no lasting damage to his eye.

Guide -
ears later, I was driving, at night, lost in the Colorado countryside in a bad snowstorm and was running low on gasoline. There were no signs, no GPS, and my cell phone was at home. There were no other drivers on the road. Usually, I used the mountains as my compass to guide me, but because of the storm, I could not see them. At each turn I came to, I stopped and prayed until I felt the unction to turn either left or right. God directed me
each step of the way back to town. I found out later that each turn I took that night had been the correct one to get me home the shortest way possible.

I could go on and on about our Heavenly Father. He is so good! I am so glad He is God.

God, Happy Father’s Day to You and Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there!

P.S. Men, if you do not attend the men’s meeting Sunday mornings try it. I know you will be welcome and encouraged!