Receive
Look with wonder [Behold!] at the depth of the Father’s marvelous love that he has lavished on us! He has called us and made us his very own beloved children. The reason the world doesn’t recognize who we are is that they didn’t recognize him.
1 John 3:1 TPT
A couple of years ago, I participated in a purpose planning session to set the tone for the year. One of the first assignments was to answer the question: Who are you? After we stated/defined who we were, we were asked to then name out the responsibilities that came along with each element of our identity. One of my answers was God’s daughter. The responsibilities I listed as a daughter was: to listen, obey, love God, depend on God, trust God, have faith in God, know God’s voice. As our facilitator walked us through this assignment, she shared that God’s daughter was also on her list and the first responsibility she named was to receive…receive God’s love, His affection, His counsel, His guidance, His time and attention, etc. After doing that assignment I began to do some studying on biblical fatherhood – God’s intention of fatherhood. I started with the biblical definition of father.
Father is a head & founder of a group. According to the biblical definition, the mark of a father is of benevolence (desire to do good to others, acts of kindness) and protection (defense or guard from attack, cover or shield from injury of danger, preservation from injury or harm). The term father is one of honor and respect – one particularly spoken of teachers that students can trace their training back to. A father is one who loves, cares, builds up & nourishes, one who bestows benefits, imparts knowledge, instructs, and advises. A father also is marked as one who has intimate connection/relationship. But the definition that stuck with me when I first began to study this is a transmitter – one who has infused his own spirit into others, who actuates and governs their minds. How has God’s love infused itself in you and how has it changed you? God is your Father! All of the above, and then some is what God wants to be for you.
If you have been focused on God Almighty, Alpha, Omega, the Lord of Hosts (one of my personal favorites), the God who answers by fire and all those other (valuable, relevant and important) characteristics & names of God – I want to challenge you this week to simply focus on God the Father (Abba). Many of us have had experiences with our earthly fathers (or lack of experiences) that have permeated how we view God the Father. God the Father has no dysfunction in Him, there is no flaw in Him. You are His only agenda and His love toward you is marvelous and perfect. How He loves you may play out in many different ways – different melodies, different tempos, different rhythms, different keys, but always beautiful. Today’s scriptures says that God lavishes us with His love – there is no restraint on how He loves us. Today, I want us to begin to understand who God is as a Father and behold, receive and embrace His love. Of all the responsibilities of a daughter that I listed during my purpose planning a couple years ago, it’s the most important one that I overlooked: RECEIVE. That’s my prayer for you – that you will receive the love of the Father and let it permeate your life.
REFLECT + RESPOND
What endears you most about how God has fathered you?
What ideas about fatherhood do you need to release or embrace?
What hinders you from receiving the full measure of God’s love?
How has God’s love changed you?
What gaps does God need to fill in your heart (that may have been created by your earthly experience with a flawed father)?
What has God the Father called you (ex. His delight, His joy, radiant one, warrior, gentle, etc)? If you don’t know, ask Him. Reflect on that during your quiet time this week.
Soak in God’s presence every day this week for at least 20 minutes.
PRAY
Abba, reveal your love in ways that I can see and understand. Give me fresh eyes and a renewed heart that I will know your love in greater measure as I experience it. Let your love fill every gap that exists in me. I invite you to father me – lead me, teach, me, counsel me, discipline me, set boundaries in my life to keep me safe, and whatever else you desire to do. I know your heart toward me is benevolent and I trust how you choose to handle me. Teach me how to simply receive from you. Lavish me with your love this day, I pray.
Amen.
