A Father Can Be A Place of Refuge

What kind of image do you have of God the Father?
Do you see Him as warm, loving and compassionate or angry and distant?

The last couple of weeks before this Father’s Day, my Father God drew me once again to the truth of who He really is and not my perception of him.

Sometimes we get distorted ideas of who God the Father is because of the imperfections of our own earthly fathers. For years, I thought God was mad at me when I made mistakes, until I read and reflected on this verse,

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” Psalm 103:8 (NIV) The more I thought about this and meditated on this verse, the more I realized that He is not angry with me.

In the last few days my Father God said to me again, “I’m not mad at you. I have compassion on you in your weaknesses.” Then I sensed Him say, “Fathers don’t always represent me well. They are often angry and impatient and self-centered. They put too much pressure on their kids. They misrepresent the way that I am. I am not punitive. My discipline is for your good not to discourage you, oppress you or put you down.”

Then He continued on, “You were made for love and delight.
When you are weak, I’ll make you strong.

I am on your side.

I will never leave you or forsake you or fail to help you.”

Father God is more than willing and glad to fill in the gaps our fathers left. We need to forgive our fathers for what they didn’t give us, treasure the good they did give us and look to our Father God for our unmet love needs.

I saw this photo of a friend of mine, Kyle, holding his son. The photo captured the sense of security and safety I’ve sought with my Father God.

Kyle told me, “The funny thing is that I only did this once with Elijah (put him in the jacket) and he is the one who keeps coming back for more. It’s one thing to know the Father’s heart, it’s another thing to ask for it with confidence and expect to receive it over and over.”

Isn’t that beautiful?

We have a Father we can come to over and over and ask for what we want and need
even if it’s simply a place to rest and feel secure for a while.

How about you?
Have you found safety and security in God’s love?
What has been your experience?
Share with us in the comments below.

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