Have You Ever Considered What it Means to Be Faithful?
In the Bible, God’s faithfulness is praised over and over again. “Great is your faithfulness,” “Your faithfulness reaches to the skies,” “His faithfulness will be your shield” . . . you get the picture. For years I would sing songs about his faithfulness without really considering what I was saying about God. I used to believe that it simply meant that God kept his promises but this is just a fragment of what is embodied in these words. I’ve come to understand his faithfulness through the filter of the Godhead – father, bridegroom and friend.
What Kind of Dad Did You Grow up With?
I had a bad dad. I don’t want to malign my dad so I won’t go into the gory details of his parenting failure but suffice it to say my dad was not a great role model of faithfulness. Although my dad let me down in multiple ways, I must say even great dads have off days. For example, I remember early in our marriage, Bert would impulsively promise the kids a trip or a treat but, given a little time, he would consider the cost of his promise and start back peddling. He left them disappointed on more than one occasion. It was a real area of growth for this man (who would never break his word to another man) to understand the damage that happens when we back out of our word to our children. To his credit, Bert finished as a better dad than he began, loved and esteemed by all four of the children we’ve raised.
Jesus revealed Father God as the good father. What does that mean to you – a good father? There are so many things that a father provides for his children: protection, provision, identity, values. However, the most important thing a dad can do for his kids is to be present. Our culture has suffered terrible consequences because an overwhelming number of children are growing up in homes where no father is present. (Check out these statistics.) A good father is faithful to be present. My experience with Father God is that he has been present throughout my life – both before and after I fell in love with Jesus. My awareness of his presence increased once I discovered his grace but I know he was always there even before I knew who he was. In retrospect, I see his fingerprints all over my life and I recognize how he came alongside me long before I was a person of faith.
God is the Good Father – faithful to be present.
What about YOU?
How have you experienced his faithfulness in presence? Please leave a comment and let me know if your experience has been similar or different.
An aside: In the following section, I’ve been sharing some of the random things that God inspires me to pray for each day. However, I realize these articles are also matters to pray for and about. Therefore, the focus of this section will now tie more into the subject of the article and the prayers it evokes.
Prayer Matters
Today, I’m praying you experience God’s faithfulness in an overwhelming encounter with his wrap around presence. I’m praying that you receive healing for any way that you’ve felt abandoned, rejected, or disappointed by your earthly dad and that God will show you how he’s been with you.
I’m also praying for kids that are growing up in fatherless homes. I’m praying that Godly men will step into the space that’s been left by absentee dads.
In my next article, I will consider God’s faithfulness as the bridegroom.
Thanks for reading my article. What are you praying for today? Leave a comment so I can partner with you in prayer or just let me know what you think of this article.
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