It is Good You Exist!

It Is Good You Exist!

Romans 8:14-16 “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.  For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!”  it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

I love scripture verses that talk about how we are the children of God.  I love the image of God being our father.  At the same time I understand how that image can be hard for some people.  I had a wonderful father.  I had a dad that wasn’t perfect, I am sure he feels he made a lot of mistakes, but he learned from them and then changed.  I am from a large family and I know he was a different father for us younger kids than he was for the older kids.  That is to be expected.  None of us know how to be parents before we become parents.  The younger kids get the benefit of having parents that have learned by making mistakes with the older kids.  Even the older kids would agree that our dad is pretty great.  He is such a great example of walking in the faith.  Both of my parents are.  He also made sure we felt loved.  I never questioned if my parents loved me.  I know not everyone can say the same.

The idea of God being our Father, makes it easier for me to feel like I am loved by God.  I know a Father’s love and since He is God I can believe that His love is ever greater than any love we could receive from a Father here on earth.  However, what about those who didn’t have a great father?  What about those whose father was mean, abusive, absent, unloving, cold?  There are all kinds of people in the world and all kinds of fathers.  If you did not have a loving father, if you did not have a kind and generous father, then it may be hard for you to see God as your Father.  If this is the case I would suggest that you read the verse that talk about God the Father.  Read scripture and get to know who God is, who He truly is.

Another way to learn more about God as your Father is to ask Jesus to reveal who God is to you.  It says in Luke 10:22 “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”  Guess what?  Jesus chooses to reveal God the Father to you, all you have to do is ask and then sit and listen.  God knows all you have been through.  He has been there every step of the way with you.  He is not surprised that you struggle to see him as your Father because you struggle with the idea of a Father.  He knows all of this.  Take your struggle to Him, talk to Him about it.  Talk to Jesus about it.  Ask Him to help you see God as your Father.  

God is not a Father like any one of us has seen before.  Even if we had great dads, they still can’t compare to the love of our Father in heaven.  His love for us is complete, and immovable.  There isn’t anything we can do to make Him stop loving us.  I know it is hard for us to believe this, but it is 100% true.  He loves us at the exact moment when we are choosing evil over good.  He loves us when we turn away, he loves us when we are weak and he loves us when we are strong.  He loves us when we repent and come back and yet he loves us just as much even if we don’t come back.  

What I love about this verse is that it says, “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption.”  We don’t have to fear anything because God is our Father and He is taking care of us.  We fear things because we think we are on our own.  We fear things because we forget that God is in control.  We think we have to be in control of everything and when we think like that it makes sense that we would fear things because who are we to solve all of our problems.  However, we are not in control and we were never meant to be.  We don’t have to fear things because we know that our Father in heaven is looking out for us.  We know He is arranging all things for our good.  We have been adopted by God the Father and we are His children. He is our protection and our refuge.  We do not have to fear anything.  

I also love when the verse says, “When we cry, “Abba! Father!”  it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  I am not sure most of us think we have a close enough relationship to call God Father, Abba, or Dad.  When I hear most people pray and when I pray I mostly say Lord, although I do tend to start my prayers with Heavenly Father.  I think if we want to have a more intimate relationship with God, it is up to us to ask for it and begin to cultivate it.  God wants to be closer to each one of us and yet He will not force it on us.  If you want to be able to feel comfortable calling God Abba, or even Dad, then it is up to you to start.  

I wanted to think of God more intimately as my Dad.  I wanted to feel that closeness as if I was a little kid and I could just climb up on his lap and fall asleep.  I didn’t really know where to start.  I decided in my journal writing I would address the daily entries to God more informally.  I started with “Dear Father,” as I felt Dad was too informal and I didn’t want to be disrespectful.  As I continued to write to Him daily, or as consistently as I could, I felt I was growing closer to Him and I no long felt uncomfortable with calling Him Father and then I switched to Dad and that feels right now too.  I have grown a lot closer to Him, and I do think of Him as my Father.  It is not difficult for me to believe that I am loved by Him and that He delights in me.  Do you know that He delights in you too?  He does, it’s true!  Your heavenly Father delights in you and you bring Him joy, unspeakable joy.  

That doesn’t mean He likes everything you do, or say, but it does mean that He loves you always.  I heard something at a conference last night from Peter Herbeck and I want to pass it along because it was so good.  He woke up one morning and he opened his eyes and he felt as if he could see God smiling at him.  Kinda like when a parent watches their child sleep.  He felt as though he “caught” God watching him sleep and smiling at him.  He asked God if He wanted to tell him anyting and he felt God said, “It’s really good you exist Peter.  You were my idea and I don’t have any bad ideas.”  This message is not just for Peter, it is for each and every one of us.  It is really good that you exist Joanie, Peggy, Nancy, Kelly and everyone else that is listening.  Put your name at the end of that statement.  For instance, It is really good you exist Catherine.  God is saying that to you today, He wants you to know He is so happy you are here.  

I also think it is great that He said, “You were my idea and I don’t have any bad ideas.”  Sometimes we can think it was a mistake that we are alive.  We can think we don’t belong here, or that no one wants us here.  However, if we ever start to think this way, we can remember that it was God’s idea to put us here, right now in this time and in this place.  God doesn’t have bad ideas, so what is the good in all of this?   I am meant to be here, I am here for a purpose.  God loves me and is happy I exist.  

Dear Heavenly Father I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today.  Father, I ask you to heal all of our hearts.  I ask you to help those who didn’t have loving fathers to help see you as that loving Father they missed out on having.  I ask you to show them all the ways over the years that you were there loving them in the difficult times in their lives.  Lord, open us up to seeing you are our Dad, our Abba.  Soften our hearts so we can allow your love into our hearts.  Open our hearts so we see that you did not give us a spirit of fear.  Help us grow closer to you Dad.  Help us to want to grow closer to you, help us to seek you.  We love you and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus holy name, Amen!

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  If you are looking for something to help you start your New Year off right may I suggest getting my book Total Trust In God’s Safe Embrace.  It takes you through 15 different things I did to increase my trust in the Lord.  It would be a great beginning to this New Year of life we will hopefully be given. You can find the book on Amazon.  If you have read the book would you do me a favor and leave an honest review on Amazon?  It is a great way to help others find my book and let others know what you thought to it.  Reviews do matter.   I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Have a blessed day!

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