DEVOTION - Day 24

1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (New International Version)

11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

Fathers are an interesting topic and the father/child relationship is so vitally important for all of us. Studies say that a father’s involvement (or lack of involvement) determines the direction of a child’s life and how secure (or insecure) that child will be in their identity. Additionally, there have been many studies that have shown, time and time again, that fathers influence their children in ways that a mother alone just can’t do.

For some of us, the thought of our father is an easy one. He’s there and he attends all my school events. He supports me and he encourages me. He loves me unconditionally and shows me affection on a regular basis. He teaches me right from wrong and fills my life full of weighty things like integrity and character. For us, this Scripture describes our father to a “T.” He is “encouraging, comforting, and he urges us to live lives worthy of God.”

For others, the topic of our fathers is not an easy one. Our father is a workaholic, so we never see him and he is not at any of my events. He misses out on the most impressionable and important moments of my life. Or, maybe our father is absent emotionally. He’s home, but disconnected from any emotional relationship with me. Or even worse yet, he is absent physically and emotionally. You may not even know who he is.

For those that fall in the second category I described, you probably long for the encouragement and comfort that Paul speaks of in this verse. You hope for the day when dad will grab you up, hug you, apologize for what he’s done to you and your family, and continue a long life full of love and affection. I want to encourage you that whether or not that ever happens, you have a Father that loves you in such a way that no earthly father could ever do – that Father is God.

God longs to be our Father. He wants to have a relationship with us that gives us everything that our father either gave us or didn’t. He wants to love us. He also wants to encourage us, comfort us, and urges us to live lives that are worthy of Him and His will for our lives. I don’t want this to be some philosophical concept that can never be attained for you. But, I really want it to be something that you strive for each and every day.

For me, I had a good dad. Of course, there are things that I wish he would have done better. But, for the most part, he was a good dad. My downfall is not appreciated the type of father I had. I took him for granted and, to a large degree, still do today. Because of this, I feel like our relationship has been fractured to an extent. And, I feel as though I’ve missed out on some things over time.

So, today, if your father has been involved in your life in a positive way, thank God for that relationship and ask that God never lets you take it for granted. If your father is absent in some way, ask that God will reconcile the relationship and gives you the patience to wait on His timing. Above all else, pray that God will be your Father and ask Him to show you the way to deepen your relationship with Him.