Because I had seen my Heavenly Father through the lenses of my earthly experience – many of them hurtful – I had a distorted view of His Fatherhood. Whenever I heard the words “God is my Father,” several emotions and images came to my mind, some good and some bad. Mixed with biblical images of forgiveness, protection, acceptance, and love were feelings of betrayal, failure, a dictatorial demeanor, and absence. I could relate to Jesus and the Holy Spirit, but I could not live and trust my Heavenly Father, which He desired. I was missing out on what every human needs – deep, personal, fatherly love, protection, and care.
I am eternally thankful that all that has changed through a number of incredible encounters I have had with the Heavenly Father. He revealed Himself to me and peeled away layers of betrayal, hurt, mistrust, and failure. Reading and sitting under teachings on this subject and God bringing certain fatherly men into my life has also helped me restore a biblical understanding of Father God, our Heavenly Father.
In my experience, there are three aspects of the Father’s love that, if taken to heart, can cure the worst cases of heartache and crushed spirits.
1. Faithfulness: Everyone needs someone who believes in him or her, is faithful, and can be counted on. God intended that fathers fulfill that role. A faithful father has two traits: a) He is a man of his word – he remembers what he promises and does his best to fulfill it. b) A faithful father is always there when you need him most. Faithful fathers instill confidence and security in their children. Unfortunately, even the best dads are not capable of perfect faithfulness. They are finite and have only limited resources. But, our Heavenly Father is without limit. “God who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” (1 Cor 1:9). The Father can be trusted with what He has promised.
2. Loving Authority: When Michelle and I have prayed for some people with severe spiritual or emotional problems, we have often uncovered abuse from their fathers or authority figures. It does not have to be physical, but it can be one of breaking children’s spirits from criticism, rebuke, nagging, and cruel discipline. Hebrews 12:5-11 tells us that discipline from the Father is a sign that He loves us. “My son, do not lose heart when He rebukes you because the Lord disciplines those he loves…” If, out of reaction to childhood abuse, we run from God’s loving discipline, we will miss out on – “...a harvest of righteousness and peace, for those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11)
3. Generous Blessing: In a book by Gary Smalley and John Trent called The Blessing, they state that parental blessing profoundly affects present and future relationships. They define parental blessing as genuine acceptance and say that people strive to find it when it is missing, usually with disastrous results. Men and women who do not know their father’s love often fall into immorality. In part, they hope to find fatherly tenderness, love, and affection that they missed (or avoided) at home. However, immorality never satisfies and always leads to ruin. Some people are driven towards being workaholics as they look for blessings they never received at home. Always striving for acceptance, they never feel satisfied that they have measured up. At the root of genuine acceptance is unconditional love, based on the Father’s love for His children and not their performance or desire to please. See Ephesians 2:4-5
The parable of the lost son in Luke 15 describes our Heavenly Father with remarkable simplicity. He is full of goodness, graciousness, mercy, and abounding love. He rejoices over the return of the lost, and He makes available to us heavenly blessings as we turn to Him in faith. That is the true picture of our Heavenly Father and the relationship He invites us to enjoy with Him.
“I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family, in heaven and earth, is named.” Ephesians 3:14-15
