Linda's Real Father

Linda became a Christian after she was an adult. She found out that the man she had thought was her father was not her father, and she sought to learn who her real father was. When she did, it was not a pretty picture, and Linda was emotionally torn apart.

In the middle of the night she was reading her Bible and heard God say, "I am your Father." When she me told this, her face lit up with the joy His words brought her.

This father-child intimacy is one of the great truths the Holy Spirit longs to reveal to us. Jesus referred to our "Father" fifteen times in the Sermon on the Mount.

We can't fully comprehend that God loves us like He loves His Son Jesus, and yet that is what Jesus stated in His prayer to His Father. "You...have loved them even as you have loved me" (John 17:23). God's Spirit is sent to our hearts to help us realize this intimacy into which we are invited. "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father'" (Galatians 4:6).

"How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11). I love that He says, "How much more!" God is infinitely more willing than the best of earthly fathers. Once we have entered into God's family, we gain immediate access to the Father's promises of provision.
God is especially concerned about those who have no earthly father and gives them special assurances of His parental care. "Father to the fatherless, defender of widows--this is God, whose dwelling is holy" (Psalm 68:5 NLT).

Thank you, Father, for assuming responsibility for my needs.

"Your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:8).