Walking With Father
“The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.
Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned
or their children begging for bread.” (Ps. 37:23-25 NLT)
Hello Children of God,
I have been preaching through Romans now for some time, hence, have had the joy and privilege of studying and meditating on the greatest letter ever written. That journey thus far has crescendoed in Romans 8, probably the greatest chapter in the word of God. When I read it and get to verse 15, I am overwhelmed at its truth, that I am adopted into the family of God, and that the God of the universe is my Father, whom I can call, “Abba” or “Papa” or “Dad”. With the Apostle John, my heart bursts into praise and I sense an inner shout, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God” (1John 3:1 NIV). I continue reading about redemption, hope, glory, and what Father is doing to get me to be with Him forever because of the sacrifice of His Son, and the ministry of Holy Spirit in my life. I finish the chapter with knowing how Father’s everlasting love for me is the guarantee that I will never be separated from Him, and will spend eternity with Him loving me, and me loving Him! I am stopped in my tracks before the end of the chapter as I read these words, “What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?” (Rom. 8:31-32 NLT). There’s more??? He gave us His One and Only Son that we might have life, and freedom, and eternity with Him – a future that in our finite minds, we can’t even really comprehend. What more could there possibly be? What is the “everything else”, the “all things” of verse 8:32? We could certainly focus on heaven and all that awaits us when we enter into glory – it will be all ours because of Christ and His love for us. But, I do believe that there is a “now” word for us who are the children of such a benevolent, loving Father.
Although David did not know Jesus, he had an incredibly intimate relationship with Father God, wrote often of God’s love and faithfulness, and even saw God as Father (Psa. 68:5, 89:26). He acknowledged God’s leading in his life and knew that in Father’s presence was fullness of joy (Psa. 16:11). Joy and peace and hope were the fruit of abiding in the Father’s presence of which David wrote often; these were available to all who put their trust in Him. In Psalm 37, we see this word “delight”, first in verse 4, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Then again in verse 11, “But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” In these 2 instances, the “godly one” is delighting in what they receive from the Father, but in verse 23, God is delighted that the “godly one” is walking according to the Lord’s leading. To delight is to bring pleasure or joy to someone. I don’t often consider delighting God the Father. I usually see things from my end – how do I get the desires of my heart? Am I alone in this? “Be happy with the Lord” (God’s Word Translation), “Seek your happiness in the Lord” (Good News Translation). Father has done so much for me. Do I show Him how pleased I am with Him, that He is the source of and reason for my joy? Even more so, do I desire to bring Him joy by allowing Him to lead me in every area of my life? If it truly is a Father-child relationship, should it not be more reciprocal, rather than one way? If He lives for my joy, should I not live for His? Just saying! Are there “details of my life” that He does not delight in? Only the ones which He doesn’t direct – the ones which I do! If I understand what David is saying and link it back to the “everything else” of Romans 8:32, Father wants to walk with me and wants me to walk with Him in such a way that, He leads to the point where He actually is holding my hand, directing every step I take. When we walk in this way together, He can keep me from falling and even though I may stumble, He can set me right again, as I reach for His hand to continue holding. When I live my life in this manner…I bring Him joy cause He wants to be that kind of Father to me. As David experienced this Father-son relationship, he realized that God never abandoned him, supplied all of his needs, and carried the blessing on to his children. The “everything else” is all that we receive for remaining in Father’s presence and letting Him hold our hand through this life, till we are with Him forever in glory. The greatest walking partner is our Heavenly Father. Let’s take His hand and experience fullness of joy, and make Him happy as well.
Peace
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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