One promise that can never be broken!

"My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom He delights. "
 -Proverbs 3:11-12  


To many children grow up without a father in the home. Either the parents never married to begin with, or the parents divorced? Maybe dad passed away? Far to often many children don't ever meet their dad because he has been labeled as "a dead beat dad." According to the Washington Times, 15 million American children or 1 in every 3 children live without a father. I am willing to bet that just about everyone who reads this post either knows a child who is growing up fatherless or did so themselves.


Some of you can identify with these children. Maybe you can understand the pain and disappointments. Maybe you feel unwanted or abandoned. Maybe you have no idea what a father is suppose to be like.  Because of the loss that people experience when growing up fatherless, most children grow up having a very hard time seeing God as their Father.


Many verses in the Bible claim that God is our Father. Isaiah 64:8 says "And yet, O Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand." Yet many people often are angry at God because they don't understand God as a father when their own father abandon them, disappointed them, or broke promises made to them. They don't see God as a father because their father was a bad example of what a father is suppose to be.


The job of an earthly father is to be the example of our Heavenly Father, yet most fail.
The role of a father is suppose to mirror our Heavenly Father by providing, correcting, teaching, guiding, loving unconditionally, and most importantly never leaving or forsaking. These are all the same rolls that our Heavenly Father plays in each of our lives. Like Proverbs 3:11-12 says "My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom He delights."


I can understand how hard it might be to make the connection between God and father when someone never knew their own father. Try to remember that God is not man. His ways are not our ways. ("For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord." -Isaiah 55:8)
God is incapable of sin. ("When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone;" -James 1:13) Therefore He is incapable of ever leaving you. Hebrews 13:5 says that He will never leave you or forsake you. That's one promise that can never be broken!


For more verses about God as our Father, read the following Bible verses:
*Matthew 6:9-13
*1Corinthians 8:6
* Hebrews 12:5-11
* 1 John 3:1, 9-10


Embrace the corrections that our Heavenly Father bestows on us. He corrects us because He is our Father and He loves us.


Father, Thank you so much for being our perfect Heavenly Father. Thank you for not being like the earthly fathers who sin and abandon their children. Thank you for loving us unconditionally. Father, I ask that you will touch those who need to relate to you as their Father. Show them exactly how much you love them. Show them what a real father is suppose to look like. Lord heal their wounds, ease their pain, and give them a heart to forgive their earthly father.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen