God is Responsible for you: Your Father - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) April 15, 2022

"I am your Father." That's the message the Lord wants us to not just hear but believe. This can be very difficult for those of us who never had fathers or fathers who didn't quite rise to the occasion. However, the Lord says in 2 Corinthians 6:18 - And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

A father - a good father - takes full responsibility for his offspring. Think of Job. He was a man who prayed for and made sacrifices to God on behalf of his children just in case they'd sinned (Job 1:5). He didn't need to, but he knew he was crucial for maintaining the spiritual relationship between his children and God. Then there's Caleb, who gave his daughter and her husband land in the hill country. But when his daughter, Achsah, came asking for a spring to water the land they'd received, Caleb didn't just give her one, he gave her two (Joshua 15:19). He wasn't going to let his daughter's family struggle for water resources.

Consider Jairus, as well. He was a religious leader in Israel during the time of Jesus Christ and likely the type that despised the Son of God and all the miracles He was performing. Why? Because Jesus was a threat to the long-standing religious hegemony. And yet, when his daughter fell sick and was close to dying, he went searching for Jesus to save her (Mark 5:22-23). He put his pride and societal reputation to the side, choosing instead to get his beloved daughter the help she needed.

These are examples of good fathers in the Bible who did the needful for their children. Can you imagine, God is all this and so much more to us?

God is responsible for you and all you have to do is accept His help. Take His hand and let Him lead.

Far too often, we question our ability to ever be worthy of the Lord. However, we need to accept we're not worthy. This is because we are sinners who fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23). Once we accept this, we can be grateful that despite our imperfections, we receive His grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. No matter what we've done or not done. All we have to do is accept that we are sinners and accept Jesus as having paid the blood price for us. Titus 2:11 - For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.

If we submit and commit to be led by our Father, He will keep us on the path of righteousness (Psalm 23:3). In fact, 1 Corinthians 1:8 states, He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He takes the responsibility to get us to where He wants us to be. He sent Jesus for this very reason. When we open ourselves up to Him, He sends us the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us in all things. All we need do is ask for help, listen, and obey.

Now, this isn't an excuse to just live our lives however we want. We can't think to ourselves, "well, God's going to help me out so I can just live as I like." To sin, believing that grace will cover all, does not work (Romans 6:1). We are warned to not continue in sin, to not allow it to enslave us again once we've been freed by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus.

Regardless of all the grace, God still expects us to be obedient children. All through the Bible He promises good things for those who obey. We are to honor Him, the blood sacrifice of the Lamb, and the presence of His Holy Spirit by walking in alignment. Living lives reflecting the fear of the Lord, giving Him praise, and loving others with godly consideration and love are but some ways to achieve this. We just have to do our part and the Lord does the rest. He carries the load and extends us grace, which He promised is sufficient for us to get through each day as we wait to get to the end - eternal life with Him.

May the good Lord, our Good Father, continue to work in us the desire and power to please and serve Him, IJMN, Amen.