Our Perfect Father
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" -Matthew 7:11
I didn't have the best relationship with my dad growing up. He seemed cold, aloof, and distant. When I asked for attention in my own little way, his lack of affirmation (he had a VERY introverted personality) seemed like pure rejection! My parent's relationship didn't help much either - it was a constant war zone.
Although we had a lot of junk in our family when I was young, my dad and I have a much better relationship now than we ever had before. We can talk openly and I can tell that he cares for me.
Before my relationship with my dad was restored, I had a negative view of my heavenly Father too. I didn't know God as my "Dad" - I knew Him as an indifferent God who didn't care about me or the details of my life. I was so mad at Him because He allowed bad things to happen to me. He didn't change my negative circumstances, so to me that meant He didn't care about me.
But when I sought out and experienced God personally, my perception of Him completely changed. Many of us have brokenness from our past rooted in our relationship with our dads. This can cause a distorted outlook on life, and it can be a roadblock between us and our relationship with our Heavenly Father. What do we believe about Him? We will perceive God the way we perceived our dads growing up. If we don't believe the person we are asking has good intentions for us, why would we even want to ask Him for what we need or want?
But God is completely different than our earthly fathers, even awesome ones! He loves us more than we could ever imagine. It says in His word, "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" (Matthew 7:9) Decide today to get to know the God who loves you so much and discover what being loved by a perfect Heavenly Father is all about.
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling." -Psalm 68:5
Related resource: Experiencing the Father's Love: Learning to Live as Sons and Daughters of Our Heavenly Father, by Os Hillman
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