Lets Talk About Our Daddy (Abba, Father)

[BeautifulFlower]

How do you view the Father? :Rose:

Is He harsh and cold and never gives you what you want? or is He open, loving, kind, and gentle?

Is He the Man you fear making angry? or is He the Man you seek to please but you also know has compassion on you if you fall?

Is He the Man thats distant and abusive? or is He waiting for you to curl up in His lap, lay your head on His shoulder, and talk until your hearts content about your day and all your troubles?

If you know He loves you like a perfect father would, would you worry if He will not give you the best He can give you? Would you worry if He will not give you those things you ask for when He knows you are ready to handle them? Would you worry that He would ever fail you if He is infinitely resourceful?


I ask these things because I realized I have looked for this love in men. I have looked for a man that I can curl up with always. I have looked for a man that will love me compassionately even when I dont always follow through. I have looked for the kind of love that only God can provide.

Have you given your Abba Father the love that He deserves so he can fill the void you desperately need filling?

Curl up in His arms tonight and talk to Him more open and honest and true than you ever have before. Tell Him your deepest, realest thoughts and feelings. Tell Him how you feel and what you need from Him. Tell Him and believe He will give it to you and will not fail you.

Why? Because He's your dad. And He loves you. And He's infinitely resourceful so if you ask in purity of heart, can He not provide it for you?

 

[PinkPebbles]

Great thread!

For me life experiences, up and downs allowed me to experience the love of God. And for that I can call Him Abba Father.

One thing I’ve learned is that He is not like man. His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts.

Also, He knows me better than I know myself. He knows my strength and weaknesses. Therefore, He knows how to deal with me accordingly. Like how a parent knows how to deal with each child according to their special needs.

I finally realize when I pray and things don’t work according to my plans, I’m still blessed because God has a better plan. As long as I acknowledge Him in all of my ways, He will direct my path.

Lastly, God is not Santa Clause. Indeed He wants to bless us but the greatest blessing is filled with purpose that will last throughout eternity. The gifts, talents, resources, and the people He places in our lives are for a purpose and part of our destiny.

 

[Laela]

Great thread...!

You know, when I read your post OP, President Obama and his daughters came to mind. Here he is, a very powerful man in this world. He has the ability to wage war and meet with some powerful people. To others he's that, but to his daughters, he's just Daddy.... their protector, provider. I doubt his daughters would be afraid to knock on the door of the oval office to speak to Daddy or to ask him for something, especially Sasha. Pictures don't lie and I believe his has a lot of affection and love for his children.

This is how I view God Almighty... He's my all, my provider, healer, one who chastises me when needed. Because of His love and affection for me, I'm not afraid to knock on the door, to speak to him. I'm not afraid to enjoy life, love and play, knowing that Abba Father is always near and has his eye on me - no matter what. Because I am his child. It's an assurance like none other.

 

[LoveisYou]

I love my daddy Abba Father

I know He loves me
He fights my battles
He chastises me, but He's so gentle
He protects me
He blesses me
He comforts me
without Him I am nothing
He provides for me
He is ALWAYS there for me
He is my everything!!!!!

 

[BeautifulFlower]

PinkPebbles ; Laela ; LoveisYou

Don't you love your daddy? I know I do. I love that he has plenty of love to go around.

I love your illustration of Pres. Obama. What it must be like to be the daughter of the most powerful man in the free world. To be able to know that no matter how busy daddy gets, I can always get love, attention, and kisses from my dad.

Jesus says in order to enter the kingdom we have to become like children. Having child like faith that believes with no doubts and knows nothing but the good that can come in the world. I also at times felt powerless but I knew if I asked dad for something they had the ability to get it for me. And most times I didnt want anything at all but to be with my dad. We build faith when we ask and believe we will receive. We delight in him when we just wanna be with dad and please him by glorifying his name.

I love my Abba Father!

 

[PinkPebbles]

@PinkPebbles ; @Laela

Don't you love your daddy? I know I do. I love that he has plenty of love to go around.

I love your illustration of Pres. Obama. What it must be like to be the daughter of the most powerful man in the free world. To be able to know that no matter how busy daddy gets, I can always get love, attention, and kisses from my dad.

Jesus says in order to enter the kingdom we have to become like children. Having child like faith that believes with no doubts and knows nothing but the good that can come in the world. I also at times felt powerless but I knew if I asked dad for something they had the ability to get it for me. And most times I didnt want anything at all but to be with my dad. We build faith when we ask and believe we will receive. We delight in him when we just wanna be with dad and please him by glorifying his name.

I love my Abba Father!

Yes Indeed! He will never leave or forsake us!

 

[Laela]

@bolded YES! and Amein to this post!

@PinkPebbles ; @Laela ; @LoveisYou

Don't you love your daddy? I know I do. I love that he has plenty of love to go around.

I love your illustration of Pres. Obama. What it must be like to be the daughter of the most powerful man in the free world. To be able to know that no matter how busy daddy gets, I can always get love, attention, and kisses from my dad.

Jesus says in order to enter the kingdom we have to become like children. Having child like faith that believes with no doubts and knows nothing but the good that can come in the world. I also at times felt powerless but I knew if I asked dad for something they had the ability to get it for me. And most times I didnt want anything at all but to be with my dad. We build faith when we ask and believe we will receive. We delight in him when we just wanna be with dad and please him by glorifying his name.

I love my Abba Father!

 

[Shimmie]

He's my 'Dad', and is always here. He has never abandoned me and He always takes time 'For me' and with me. He listens to my cries, wipes my tears and heals my broken heart.

I pout, I sputter, I even shutter, yet He reaches out, embraces me and calms me each and every time, telling me, 'My beautiful daughter, thou art mine, forever and ever.

The Fun stuff...

He lets me wear my cute shoes....

 

[Guitarhero]

Laela, adorable pics of the Prez and girls!!!

 

[MA2010]

I love this thread! How have you ladies been?

My father has never forsaken me, NEVER! Despite my arrogance, my hesitance and my selfishness He is ALWAYS there waiting to forgive me. I love that!

My heart will ALWAYS be His.

 

[Shimmie]

I love this thread! How have you ladies been?

My father has never forsaken me, NEVER! Despite my arrogance, my hesitance and my selfishness He is ALWAYS there waiting to forgive me. I love that!

My heart will ALWAYS be His.

Hey MA... How are you?

I'm doing great... "Meow" ( )

And you are so right, this is a wonderful thread.

God bless you.

 

[BeautifulFlower]

The True Father

"We don't use that word around here," started the Christian educator as she glared at me. "Father is not part of our vocabulary." When I challenged her reasoning, she said, "Many of these children come from terrible homes. They have no idea what a good father is like. The only father they know is one who beat them or sold their toys for drugs or alcohol."

"Maybe that's all the more reason to talk to them about God the Father," I said. I might as well have saved my breath; she wouldn't consider that I might have a valid point. Yet I knew she understood the trauma of many of her students.

"Let me tell you something," I said before I left. "I had no idea of what a good father was either. But the concept of God as a Father helped bring me into the faith." She raised an eyebrow at that remark, but said nothing more.

I understood her reasoning, but I didn't agree with it. When I was in my early twenties, I heard the first sermon I can remember about the fatherhood of God. I sat in the stark building, on a pew without a cushion, and wondered why I had bothered to attend anyway. I had come alone on a whim; going to church wasn't part of my regular Sunday activities. The liturgy confused me, the music bored me, and I never seemed to know where we were reading in the lessons. I didn't care about a lengthy report from the vestry or a summary of the triennial conference.

Finally, the robed minister stood to preach. "Do you want to understand God?" the rector asked. He went on to say that if we want to grasp who God is, the best way is to think of God as a loving, caring father. I particularly recall one sentence: "Because he embodies all qualities of earthly fathers in their highest form, we refer to him as our heavenly Father."

For the first time in my life, I understood that God was like a father who loves and wants only the best for his kids. Every action God does on our behalf is an act of love. It made me realize that God could fill that deep void in my life that my own father had never satisfied.

The rector said our human, earthly fathers failed us in many ways, and that's why we need to see God as the perfect parent—the one who would never fail us, the one who treats each of us as special children.

I could track with that. My dad was an alcoholic. When he was sober, he was kind and had a delightful sense of humor. With a few beers inside him, he became harsh and short-tempered. I received a number of undeserved beatings, a lot of blaming for things I didn't do, and a feeling that no matter what I did, it wouldn't be good enough.

Yes, I knew about an earthly father, and it wasn't much to inspire me. Then I heard about a Heavenly Father who is different. He's the Father who wraps loving arms around us, who listens to us, and most of all, who understands our pain.

In the years since then, I've learned a lot of theology, but I suspect I never grasped anything more profound than I did that day in church. It would still be months before I fully turned to God, but that was one of the early seeds of understanding.

God is like a Father who never fails us. Today I would say that the father-need in us is part of our brain's hardwiring; we have no real inner peace until we find fulfillment for that need. I found that fulfillment in God the True Father.

Even today, when I pray to God the Father, sometimes I have a mental image of myself as a preschooler. I sit on his lap. I babble away about the things that trouble me. I feel his strong arms surrounding me and his warm embrace as he whispers, "I have loved you with an everlasting love."

Sometimes I think about my own son—the time when he stubbed his toe, the first time he fell off his bike, or the time he ran his first race and came in last. I was there. I held him and wiped away his tears. Yes, I know the tenderness of a father.

The more I envision God the Father, the more I see the God who invites intimacy and closeness. Granted, the relationship between fathers and children may have been different in biblical days, but I doubt it.

I lived in East Africa where I saw a lifestyle in rural areas that echoed the life of biblical days. It touched me to see how children behaved and related to their parents. A few times, parents yelled at young children, especially warning to stay away from the open fires or to watch their feet on the path to the river. But I never saw beatings, harsh treatment, or neglect.

More than once I have been sitting in a business meeting when a small child would walk inside, climb up into his father's lap, and lay his head on his shoulder. Without a word between them, the father held the child. It caused no disruption. That is a visual image of the fatherhood of God.

The Bible, of course, speaks about God the Father chastening his children, and I wouldn't want to ignore that concept. But most of us probably need to think more about the one who both Jesus and Paul addressed as "Abba, Father" or "Daddy God."

We can pray to our True Father who loves us, cares about every need in our lives, and provides a place of safety. That's the True Father.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. --PSALMS 103:13, NIV

[Jesus said,] "This is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.'" --MATTHEW 6:9, NIV

Abba Father,
as I approach you,
help me know that your hand holds mine,
that you're always there for me to lean on
because you hold me,
that you're the True Father,
especially when I'm afraid,
alone, and troubled. Amen.

For more from Cec, please visit www.cecilmurphey.com .

 

[Prudent1]

^^^ What a true and beautiful post PFANB. It breaks my heart sometimes to read posts from so many here on the forum who have not grasped this concept. Their pain is evident. The scars from the psuedo men they have known their entire lives. I pray for all of us. Thanks for shring this...

 

[BeautifulFlower]

^^^ What a true and beautiful post PFANB. It breaks my heart sometimes to read posts from so many here on the forum who have not grasped this concept. Their pain is evident. The scars from the psuedo men they have known their entire lives. I pray for all of us. Thanks for shring this...

Yes Cecil Murphy's devotionals are so heart opening to understanding the nature of God on a very intimate and deeper level.

I especially love when he talks about a child being able to curl up into the lap of his father during a business meeting without any disruption. (heartthrob) Thats what makes it all worth it to me.

Growing up I always felt like a burden to some degree. I was always too young, too small, too something and so I was tolerated. I still carry that attitude in my adult years. I'm very independent because, deep down, I don't want to be a burden on anyone.

But Abba Father let's me know I'm never a burden. I can always come to him and he not be irritated with me. I'm never needy. With him, I can respectfully say whatever is on my heart. I can talk until my hearts content and listen for his instruction.

I remember the last time I fell in love with a man. Our dynamic was awesome. I don't fall in love easy and I was shocked that I fell for him. I realized one of the things that pulled my heart strings about this man was his accommodation of me. He would be on his computer working and he would want me to sit on his lap while he worked. Or he would come and kiss me before he'd go back to work. I was never a burden and always a source of joy.

Now the Lord is that comfort and accommodation for me first. Abba wants me to always come to him, always sit in his lap and enjoy being together, and always be my first source of happiness and joy.


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