Blessings From The Father
Blessings From The Father
When you hear the saying, “Blessings from your father,” what comes to your mind?
Does it bring comforting words like warmth, love, compassion, safety, affirmation, teacher, or wisdom?
Or…
Does it bring up more difficult memories such as anger, abuse, father's absence, control, workaholism, indifference, addiction, or hyper-competitiveness?
The father's role has been minimized and corrupted. Fatherhood was once the standard stabilizing figure in any given family; now he is the punchline. Clumsy dads can’t do anything right and are often dismissed as the problem the rest of the family must work around in order to succeed.
There is a desire in each of us to receive approval from our father. We want to know he loves us, he will fight for us, he will protect us, and prepare us for what will come our way. However, the longer I am involved in ministry I hear of stories from men who never understood how to be a father. Unfortunately, they end up leaving a father wound with their children. Sometimes the wound is intentional, but most of the time it comes from the wound they received from their father.
When your father fails to love, fight for, and protect his family the way they need it, it can leave a father wound. This wound can single-handedly transform how you see yourself and impact the lens you use to make decisions for the rest of your life.
In the father wound, it is common to take the imperfections of your earthly father and transfer them to God, your heavenly Father.
The conclusions make sense and are verified in our rationale. None of these are actual characteristics of Christ’s character described in the Bible.
God’s love for you is greater than any love you can hope to receive from your father.
“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:11-13
Your earthly father is aiming to simply be “good enough.” But God is the perfect father.
Everything you need, He is there to fill it. Take every doubt, pain, fear, shame, or regret to Him. Let His perfect love cast out fear.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18a
His love for you is unconditional. It is His perfect gift to you through Jesus’ death and resurrection that reveals His perfect love for you.
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
As you continue your journey, rest in the love of the perfect Father who gives you all you need. If you believe in Christ, you are blessed as His child. Enjoy the blessings that will follow you from this day on.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”
John 3:16-17
Does it bring comforting words like warmth, love, compassion, safety, affirmation, teacher, or wisdom?
Or…
Does it bring up more difficult memories such as anger, abuse, father's absence, control, workaholism, indifference, addiction, or hyper-competitiveness?
The father's role has been minimized and corrupted. Fatherhood was once the standard stabilizing figure in any given family; now he is the punchline. Clumsy dads can’t do anything right and are often dismissed as the problem the rest of the family must work around in order to succeed.
There is a desire in each of us to receive approval from our father. We want to know he loves us, he will fight for us, he will protect us, and prepare us for what will come our way. However, the longer I am involved in ministry I hear of stories from men who never understood how to be a father. Unfortunately, they end up leaving a father wound with their children. Sometimes the wound is intentional, but most of the time it comes from the wound they received from their father.
When your father fails to love, fight for, and protect his family the way they need it, it can leave a father wound. This wound can single-handedly transform how you see yourself and impact the lens you use to make decisions for the rest of your life.
In the father wound, it is common to take the imperfections of your earthly father and transfer them to God, your heavenly Father.
- When your father is angry, it is easy to see God as always angry and disappointed. When your father gets outraged is it easy for you to see God as regularly furious with you?
- When your father tells you that you can do better, do you feel God is constantly telling you the same thing?
- When your father is never around, God keeps His distance from you. If your father wasn’t around much, does it feel like God is constantly distant and lacking any kind of intimacy?
The conclusions make sense and are verified in our rationale. None of these are actual characteristics of Christ’s character described in the Bible.
God’s love for you is greater than any love you can hope to receive from your father.
“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:11-13
Your earthly father is aiming to simply be “good enough.” But God is the perfect father.
Everything you need, He is there to fill it. Take every doubt, pain, fear, shame, or regret to Him. Let His perfect love cast out fear.
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” 1 John 4:18a
His love for you is unconditional. It is His perfect gift to you through Jesus’ death and resurrection that reveals His perfect love for you.
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
As you continue your journey, rest in the love of the perfect Father who gives you all you need. If you believe in Christ, you are blessed as His child. Enjoy the blessings that will follow you from this day on.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”
John 3:16-17
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A Spiritual Green ThumbThankfulness in Times of TrialOne New LifeOne StepOne DecisionOne PossibilityOne FearOne LieOne DayFurther Up. Further In.When TImes Are Good, Don’t Lose GroundBlessings From The FatherWill shame stop exploitation?New Life in ChristNew Life: A Beautiful MessWhen It’s Hard To Do What You Said you would doConviction vs. ActionNot By SightFinding Identity In The Deep EndRefuge In The StormCan I Really Change? One Guaranteed Way Inside“I Made It” A Tribute To Terry TurnerOne Decision. One Choice.Free IndeedI never knew that something that merely peaked my curiosity at the age of twelve, would turn into years of relentless shame and secrecy. Over the course of four years pornography had consumed more of my life than I ever intended to give it. I vividly remember one of my most desperate prayers to God when I was sixteen. With knots twisting in my stomach, and tears uncontrollably running down my face I said, “God, I can’t do this anymore.” It was in that moment He replied, “Jessica, you don’t have to.” If you are reading this, I don’t know where you are in life or the magnitude of the struggles that you face. What I do know, is that there is such a thing as freedom. For me, it was freedom from more than a pornography addiction. Lust, deception, shame, guilt, comparison, rejection, abandonment, and condemnation have all reared their heads in the years that followed that night when I was sixteen. At times I found myself asking, “When will this ever end?” Somehow, I fell under the impression that the surrender of one thing meant that things in this new relationship with God would inevitably be effortless afterward. Not only was I wrong, but I am glad I was wrong. John 8:36 reads, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” To this day, it is a verse that has brought me the greatest joy, and I want to tell you why. Jesus starts out this verse by saying “if the Son sets you free.” I couldn’t keep up with the facade that everything was okay, and that I didn’t have an addiction. Freedom came in the moment I said that I couldn’t do it anymore. It wasn’t ever going to be found in my own ability, and for that I am thankful. I am thankful that I can never be too proud of my own strength and resistance to sin. On my own I will miserably fail. Then later in the verse comes my favorite part: “free indeed.” For only six letters, indeed is a powerful word. According to Strong’s concordance, some definitions include “really, truly,” and “actually.” In other words, Jesus was saying that this freedom is without question. It’s not a distant, unattainable fantasy. It’s an undeniable reality that only He can make possible. So where does this leave you now? It leaves you with a choice. Regardless of where you consider yourself to be in this life, Jesus is the only way to lasting freedom. The lies that tell you that this is how it always must be are exactly that – lies. There is a life beyond addiction. Ten years ago, I found myself at that crossroads where I had to decide if I wanted to keep living the way I was. Jesus wasn’t just as my crossroads, but on the road leading to it. I only had to recognize that He was there.
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