Father’s Day: Faith in Our Father

Faith can move mountains; it can change our outlook and bring us hope. Yet, only faith in God, our Father, brings with it the guarantee of our faith being rewarded every time.

“… ‘…I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’”—Matthew 17:20

God is the epitome of a good father. It was shown in the Old Testament, in the time of Jesus, and His goodness is still at work today!

“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

Sometimes the ways He shows His love are grand; even beyond our wildest dreams! An unexpected promotion… Restoration of a family member to God… Healing of sickness or disease. These are all impressive acts of love in our eyes, yet, our Father daily shows us His love. Sometimes we simply have to have our eyes open to see.

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”—Matthew 6:26

Faith Works through Love:

Galatians 5:5-6 and Ephesians 3:17-19 both speak on love and its relationship with faith. That love is the groundwork of faith…

“For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. …faith working through love.”—Galatians 5:5-6

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend …the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”—Ephesians 3:17-19

Because God is love, as stated in 1 John 4:8, it is possible for Him to be the perfect Father. Yet we, like children with their earthly fathers, at times do not desire to listen to Him. Or we will ask Him for things that would not be good for us.

At these times we may rebel. We may misunderstand our Father, believing that He does not desire good things for us. Or even, that because things do not always happen when we want, or in the way we want, that He is untrustworthy.

Yet, God knows every moment of our lives, past, present, and future. He knew them before we were even formed in our mother’s womb. He even goes so far as to number the hairs on our heads! What earthly father would do so, no matter how much they love us? What earthly father could?

Because God is perfect, without fault or blame; because He does not change; and because, as Jeremiah 29:11 says, He desires good for us… we can trust our Father. We can put our faith wholly in Him. Loving Him with all of our hearts!

“For I am the Lord, I do not change…”—Malachi 3:6

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”—Jeremiah 29:11

Further still, God, our good Father, is willing to help us. He is willing to spend time with us if we ask Him—increasing our faith through relationship.

He gave us His Word, to strengthen our hearts and give hope. He is always on call. Willing to listen and give us a helping hand…

His love NEVER runs out!

Unfortunately, we are not always willing to ask for help. To even spend time with Him.

We, like little children, can turn to our Father and say, ‘I can do it!’ We can walk in stubbornness and pride—a lack of faith in Him and even, in a roundabout way, ourselves—and this walk can take us off the safe path God laid down. It can remove us, delay us, or, at the very least, cause us to waste energy and focus.

However, simply by having enough faith in our Father to let Him take the wheel—even when we perhaps could manage on our own—is the simple answer. By laying everything at His feet in faith, we come closer to Him; getting to better know the Father’s love.

When we do that we can become better versions of children. Where we look at our Father with pride, even awe. Where instead of saying, “I can do that!” we say, “My Father can do anything! He can handle that.”

We become like a little boy or girl who looks upon their earthly father as being able to do anything. Where our Father becomes better than a superhero. Able to take on anything, any spirit.

When we put our faith in God we are able to say, “My Dad can beat up your dad!” to any demon. We are able to look up at our Father as though we have never seen anyone like Him before and never will again; because He is, ‘awesome!’

Our Father never runs out of energy; never runs out of love. He is always willing to put our enemies in their place; lift us up onto His shoulders.

We have been chosen by God to be His children! We are co-heirs with CHRIST!

That is unbelievable in the natural, but when we know our God—our Father—we know that He does not change. That when He says something, He means it. That knowledge of His faithfulness renews our faith; it restores our souls and gives hope!

It says in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that we are to abide in three things. Three simple things that fulfill all of the requirements of the Word because they alter our actions to be more like our Father’s.

Faith.

Hope.

And Love.

Now, the greatest of these is love, but faith works through love. If we love our Father, we will in turn have faith in Him… and that faith, that love, gives us a future and a hope.

Through these three we come to know the power of our God. Of our Father.

The Benefits of Being a “King’s Kid”:

We are all like the prodigal son Jesus spoke of in the Word. We have all taken our Father’s ‘money’—the blessings He gave in the Garden—and misused it.

Yes, some may find God at a young age, but it is only the blood of Jesus—that our Father allowed to be shed—that can remove the curse of the Garden. It is only through God that we can come home!

When we choose to accept the open arms of our Father—arms that are open no matter our iniquity—we, like the prodigal son, start to receive benefits. Not because of anything we have done, but because our Father is love; He is forgiveness and hope!

Our Father wraps us in His arms and showers us with love, but He goes even further. He gives US authority! He gives us the power to overcome and live life fully!

We can choose to refuse or ignore the gifts He bestows on us, but when we have faith in our Father and are willing to follow blindly after Him; ALL of the blessings of God work through us.

We are allowed to enter the covenants of God. The covenant with Abraham. The restoration that Jesus’ blood gave—the covenant promise of life, life forevermore.

“…For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forevermore.”—Psalm 133:3

Being a child of the King of kings comes with the blessings of kingship. It causes us to be kings and priests for Him; because our Father has contacts. He is willing to set us up in the family business; He is willing to set us up as CEOs!

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God…”—1 Corinthians 6:20

Since our Father paid such a high price to bring us into His family and make us one with Him, let us glorify Him this Father’s Day. Not only by giving Him the attention and love He deserves, but by sharing that love and obeying the command to honor our Fathers and Mothers. By giving love, honor, and respect to all the earthly fathers around us.